Adoption can be strenuous and complicated and this becomes more compex when you appeal for adoption rights as a partner of a legal guardian. This is where co-parenting comes in.
Co-parenting adoptions, also known as second parent adoptions, are a critical tool for LGBTQIA+ families in the United States. It is important to understand how state statutes require you to approach them.
Co-parenting complaints in New Jersey
The process begins with a co-parenting adoption complaint that you and your partner — the legal guardian of the adoptable child — verify.
You and your party submit this to your county with basic information that includes:
- Your, your partner’s and the child’s names and addresses
- The nature of your relationship with the legal parent
- The facts surrounding the child’s conception, including other potential parties with parental rights
Complaint documentation
It depends on your situation, but the usual documentation in a co-parent adoption complaint includes certificates of your civil union or marriage, copies of the child’s birth certificate with your name on it and verified consent from any third party.
Once you have everything arranged, the courts hold a final hearing. You may receive rights as a legal parent or courts may require another hearing if they believe another uninformed individual may have preexisting parental rights.
When navigating this process, it is important to know what you need and how best to organize it. There is information available to any aspiring co-parents who wish to share in the same legal rights as other parents of the children in their life.