Helping You Grow Your Family Through Adoption In Houston And Beyond

Family law is not all about dissolving marriages and resolving parental disputes. Our family law attorney also helps parents bring a new child into the fold through adoption, or give legal status to a stepparent or relative who seeks to take the reins from an absent or delinquent biological parent.

At Law Thompson, P.C., our knowledgeable and responsive attorney Travis Thompson is ready to help would-be parents in Texas establish a permanent legal bond with a new child or a stepchild. We also help families who are seeking information about grandparent adoption.

Facilitating Stepparent Adoptions

Not all adoptions follow the stereotypical scenario of a young couple adopting a newborn. Many adoptions  involve stepparents seeking legal status in lieu of a biological parent. These proceedings can be simple or complicated depending on whether the adoption is contested or uncontested. There are two phases of such stepparent adoptions:

• Termination. This involves the legal mechanism whereby a court will revoke a biological parent’s rights so that a stepparent may claim legal status as the parent. Termination may be allowed in cases where the estranged parent can be shown to have an ongoing problem with addiction or other issues that would make him or her an unreliable or unsafe parent. As one might imagine, the termination phase of an adoption proceeding becomes much more difficult if the biological parent fights to maintain his or her parental status.

• Adoption. Once the biological parent’s rights have been terminated, the adoption proceeds, wherein the court will investigate whether the new legal parent and/or home environment would present a safe and positive situation for the child in question.

Stepparent adoption confers all the rights and responsibilities to the stepmom or stepdad as if they were the natural parent, including inheritance, decision-making and financial support obligations. Just as importantly, it cements the bond between the stepparent and stepchild.

Expand Your Family? Call Us Today.

Call our office at to schedule a consultation with an experienced certified family law specialist Travis Thompson. You can also use our contact form to get in touch with our Houston office. We represent clients in Harris County, Montgomery County and surrounding counties.