We have helped many families navigate adoption, step-parent adoption, or minor guardianship (formerly third-party custody). Often, stepping in to help parent a child starts with the desire for a child to have stability, safety and support. These cases can be legally and procedurally complicated, so it’s important to speak with an attorney about what option is best and how to proceed.

Adoption is a permanent legal process that terminates the parental rights of one or both parents, and then establishes parental rights with the adoptive parent(s). Terminating parental rights is a very difficult process if a parent objects. Minor guardianship is a temporary or long-term option, wherein the legal parent retains their parental rights, but the court establishes a non-parent legal guardian for a set period of time due to parental deficiencies. Due to the various options available and procedural complexity, we do recommend that you set up consultation with an attorney if you are exploring adoption, guardianship, or a financial conservatorship.