The traditional family no longer reflects the majority. Many families are blended, and being a step-parent is almost as common as being a biological parent. It is critical for stepparents to understand their legal rights and obligations.
The law is evolving to recognize the crucial role many step-parents play in the lives of their step-children, but their rights are not equal to those of the children’s legal parents. Contact a family law attorney at our Georgia firm if you have questions about your role as a step-parent.
Step-Parents’ Rights Are Limited Compared to Legal Parents
Step-parents often assume a large role in their step-children’s upbringing, but the law does not always reflect that fact. Step-parent rights often depend largely on the consent of the children’s legal parents.
For example, in most cases parents must both authorize a step-parent to pick children up from school, daycare, or camp. They cannot consent to emergency healthcare treatment for the child unless both parents agree to give the step-parent that authority.
Like any person providing care for a child, a step-parent may discipline a child. However, it is usually wise for parents to agree on whether a step-parent can punish a child and define the discipline they believe is appropriate.
The Equitable Caregiver Act Can Help Some Step-Parents
Heartbreaking situations sometimes arise when a parent and step-parent break up, and the step-parent has a close relationship with the parent’s children. In the past, step-parents had no opportunity to pursue custody and could seek visitation only in limited circumstances.
Georgia’s Equitable Caregiver Act, found in the Official Code of Georgia §19-7-3.1, allows people without a biological or adoptive connection to a child to petition for custody rights in some cases. The person applying for custody must establish that they are an equitable caregiver. Any step-parent seeking equitable caregiver status should consult a member of our Georgia family law team to confirm that they meet the legal requirements to pursue custody.
A step-parent or intimate partner of a parent can apply for equitable caregiver status if they play a meaningful, consistent parental role in the child’s day-to-day life. At least one of the child’s legal parents must have endorsed their role as a caregiver, and the relationship with the child must be long-term and significant.
Adoption Bestows Full Parental Rights
When a child has only one legal parent, a step-parent may adopt the child. A child has one legal parent when the other parent:
- Is dead
- Surrendered their parental rights
- Had their parental rights terminated
A child also has only one legal parent when they were adopted by a single parent.
Formal adoption makes the step-parent the legal parent of the child, with all the legal rights and obligations of a parent. Through adoption the adoptive parent acquires the rights to custody and parenting time and the obligation to pay child support if the parents separate. The adoptive parent also gains the right to consent to medical care for the child and access to their health and education records.
The child acquires the right to financial support and inheritance rights. The child also has the advantage of two legal parents. If one parent dies while the child is still a minor the other parent assumes sole custody.
Contact Our Georgia Family Law Attorneys About Step-Parents’ Rights
Step-parents can play a positive role in the lives of their step-children, but they do not have the rights of legal parents in most cases. The child’s legal parents usually define the step-parent’s rights and obligations toward the children.
Applying for equitable caregiver status can allow the step-parent more rights, but satisfying the legal criteria can be challenging. Consult the Georgia family law team at our firm for advice. Reach out today.
