Being a stepparent isn’t always easy. There can be some stigma associated with stepparents and there are certainly a lot of stories that center around stepparent abuse, both in fairy tales and in the real world. However, not all stepmothers and fathers encounter issues with their stepchildren. Many find great joy in parenting the children of their spouse and even more discover they would prefer to claim their stepchildren as their own. This is where step parent adoptions come in.
Protecting the Children Legally
One major benefit of a stepparent adoption is that it protects the children legally, especially if their biological mother or father isn’t in the picture, either due to negligence or death. If the biological parent that has custody dies, and the stepparent hasn’t adopted the children, their future could be in question. This could allow other family members to step in and claim custody. In a good family situation, this may not be what’s best for the children.
In the case of the death of both the stepparent and the biological parent, an adoption allows the stepparent to leave items to their stepkids without room for contesting from biological family members. They can also have a …