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What are my rights?

surleysue's picture

Submitted by surleysue on Fri, 10/14/2011 - 8:05pm

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Stepparent Rights

I have been married to my husband since July 2011, but we have been together since June 2007. We have no children together, but I have 4 and he has 2. His boys are teens now, 13 and 16. Their bio mom passed away last year.

Today, my husband went to jail. (I'd rather not focus on what he went for.) His mother has stepped in and took over the decision making on behalf of the boys. It's the first day, and there wasn't a problem with the decisions made today, but do I have rights if there are problems in the future?

In this situation where both bio parents are out of the picture, aren't I the sole care giver for the boys? Aren't I the one who is solely responsible for them? What rights do I have?

Thanks in advance.

lmac's picture

Submitted by lmac on Fri, 10/14/2011 - 8:09pm

Unless you are listed as a legal guardian or adopted them, I don't think you actually have any rights.

IDK how long your husband will be in for, but if their mom is passed away, I believe he can consult with a lawyer to let you adopt them or assume temporary custody while he is in prison.

If he is going to be out in a month or so, and the rest of the family is supportive, then carry on doing what you're doing.

But someone who is not in prison needs to be listed as the kids' legal guardian asap in case of an emergency.

I'm sorry that your family is going through this.

RainbowsAndDaisies's picture

Submitted by RainbowsAndDaisies on Thu, 02/02/2012 - 7:54pm

You have no rights. If you want to make sure that those boys do not disapear from your life, you should start the adoption process immediately. call a family law attorney tommorow.

storm_brewing's picture

Submitted by storm_brewing on Sat, 02/18/2012 - 7:48pm

Right now you have no rights pertaining to your stepkids.

Tell you husband to appoint you as the kids legal guardian. The jail staff can help him fill out and file all the necessary paperwork. Get this done, like yesterday!

Jail staff is very familiar with these types of situations. To expedite the process, you can be appointed Emergency Guardian. You really don't need a lawyer to do this, unless your husband has an attorney for "the other thing."

Hope this helped:)