Without the other biological parent's consent, their parental rights must be terminated in court.
According to the Bishop Law Firm, a law firm that provides adoption counsel, adoption is the legal process of transferring parental rights and responsibilities of the adopted individual from the adopted individual's biological and/or legal parents. Furthermore, the adoption of a child or stepchild in Tennessee will legally remove inheritance rights from the biological and/or legal parents or guardians.
Tennessee Adoption Requirements
Bishop Law Firm claims that stepparents may adopt stepchildren in Tennessee if they meet state required guidelines. Some of the guidelines that the stepparent must meet are: 18 years of age, still residing with and not in divorce proceedings with the biological parent of the child, both the stepparent and the biological parent that they are married to must appear on the petition to adopt.
Termination of Parental Rights
In the state of Tennessee, when a stepchild is adopted, the parent not involved in the marriage union between the biological parent and the new spouse must agree to release their parental obligation to the child or be proven an unfit parent in a court of law.
Child Rights
In the state of Tennessee, any child that is more than 14 years-of-age has the choice of whether or not to be adopted. In order to adopt a step-child that is 14 years old or older, the child must submit a written statement that they consent to be adopted and to dissolve their inheritance rights from the biological parent not engaged in the current adoption petition.
Required Documentation
In order to adopt a stepchild in Tennessee, there is documentation that must be submitted with the petition of adoption. Those additional documents are the child's original birth certificate, the adoptive parents' marriage certificate, the previous parents' marriage certificate (if applicable), death certificates if both or either biological parent or guardian are deceased and the order or termination of parenting rights from the parent that is releasing parental rights.
Fees and Expenses
In the state of Tennessee, there can only be fees from a licensed adoption agency and court costs included in the adoption process with few exceptions. For example, the allowed expenses outside of court costs and agency fees are birth related medical expenses, reasonable counseling fees and actual fees associated with costs housing and providing for the birth mother if applicable.
Tags: biological parent, rights from, state Tennessee, adopted individual, biological legal