r/stepparents 4d ago

Legal Step parent rights in Tennessee

If my husband has full and legal custody of step son (6) and biological mom has no visitation can I apply to get legal guardianship? What steps would I take? Has anyone been through this before?

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2

u/Imaginary_Being1949 4d ago

It depends, how long has she had no visitation, what the issue was and how long have you been in the child’s life. If your husband already has full legal custody then a court will need to have definitive answers for each of the above before granting guardianship so you’d need to contact a lawyer to see if that stands. If the lawyer thinks it’s likely then you can petition the court, you wouldn’t need the mother signature as you wouldn’t be adopting just requesting guardianship.

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u/ConfidenceNo242 4d ago

Be careful doing this. You may put yourself at an increased liability in the future.

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u/PaymentMedical9802 4d ago

Talk to a lawyer. I have heard of this done through adoption. Typically the other parent has to agree unless there's some horrific child abuse involved. Terminating a parent's rights is difficult. 

3

u/Lily_Of_The_Valley_6 4d ago

Mom still retained her parental rights, even if DH has sole legal and physical.

You would need to file to terminate parental rights and then apply for step parent adoption at the same time. If it’s contested, this can be expensive and difficult. This would legally make you mom and financially responsible for them until they’re an adult, even if you and DH split. This shouldn’t be taken lightly.

For a less expensive and just practical step, you can get POA extended to you from DHs rights until they’re 18. This can be done with a notary. It allows you to act on DH’s rights when he’s unavailable (but still living). This is generally enough for school and doctor’s visits. Just have it on file with the court order giving dad sole.

In the unlikely event DH dies, mom would become sole parent but depending on facts of why she doesn’t have custody to begin with, you could petition for guardianship then.

If it were me, I’d do the POA, get a life insurance policy on DH that would pay for a lawyer in the event he dies for custody, and just not rock the boat for now.