Cuprins
The step-parent in a blended family
Today, the law does not provide any status for the step-parent. Clearly, you have no right to the education or the schooling of your spouse’s child or children. This lack of status concerns 12% of adults (2 million the number of reconstituted families in France). It is a question of creating a “statute of the step-parent” so that he can undertake, like the biological parent, the steps of the daily life of the child.. This recommendation was heard and at the request of the President of the Republic last August, the status of the step-parent is being studied.
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For the time being, it is the law of March 2002 which is authoritative. It allows you to obtain the voluntary delegation of parental authority. The interest? You can legally share parental authority with the biological parents, for example, to keep the child in the absence of your spouse, to pick him up from school, to help him with his homework or to make the decision to take him to the doctor if he is injured. The procedure: you must make a request to the family court judge. The condition : the agreement of both parents is essential.
Another solution, adoption
Simple adoption is usually chosen, because not only can it be revoked at any time, if you wish, but also it allows the child to maintain ties with his family of origin while creating a new legal bond with the step-parent. The procedure: you must make a request “for adoption purposes” to the registry of the Tribunal de Grande Instance. Conditions : both parents must agree and you must be over 28. Consequences: the child will have the same rights as your legitimate child (ren).
Another possibility, full adoption is less requested because the procedure is more cumbersome. In addition, it is more restrictive because it is irrevocable and definitively breaks the legal ties of the child with his legitimate family. In addition, you must be married to the biological parent.
Note: in both cases, the age difference between you and the child must be at least ten years. It is not necessary to have social services accreditation.
What if we split up?
You can assert your rights to maintain emotional ties with your spouse’s child (ren), on condition that you make a request to the family court judge. The latter can then authorize you to exercise a right of correspondence and visit, and more exceptionally, a right of accommodation. Know that a hearing of the child, when he is over 13 years old, is often requested by the judge to know his will.