Being a parent is rewarding, but it also comes with a fair amount of challenges and difficulties to overcome. Such difficulties and challenges can be even greater for a stepparent and there may even be more difficulties abound as well. In addition to having to adapt to the new role of a parent, being a stepparent can sometimes cause litigation issues. Today a stepparent attorney in Idaho will break down some of the unique challenges stepparents face.
Adapting to Life as a Parent
Adapting to being a parent is a learning curve for anyone. However, this learning curve can especially be steep if you’ve never been a stepparent before and all of a sudden, you have to get used to being a parent. Even if you’ve interacted with your spouse’s children before getting married and everything seemed to be fine, there are still bound to be unforeseen challenges.
Adapting to Blended Families
The term, “blended families” refers to when there are kids from different marriages. Having kids from different marriages can create problems for both the parents and other children. Some issues may include:
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- Not getting along: While this may mean that blended children are constantly fighting it doesn’t always have to. It may also mean that both groups of kids don’t share similar interests/aren’t bonding–for example if there are age differences–or one child is worried that they’re not getting enough attention from one of the parents.
- Different parenting styles: Parents often have different parenting styles. While there’s nothing wrong with this, when it comes to blended families, this can cause some clashes.
- Difficult parent-to-child relationships: It can take a long time for a child to bond with their stepparent especially following a divorce or the loss of their mother or father. It’s not uncommon for children of divorced marriages to start acting out or having some form of trauma.
Litigation Issues
When it comes to being a stepparent, some people might be surprised that you don’t have all the same rights as a biological parent. By having the same rights as a biological parent, a stepparent can make critical decisions for their stepchild including medical and education decisions.
However, the process of gaining the same rights as a biological parent can sometimes be difficult and may require help from an experienced stepparent attorney in Idaho. Although you can gain the same rights as a biological parent, you’ll often need consent from both parents and need to have lived in Idaho for at least six months.
If you don’t have permission from both parents then your case will have to meet one of the following conditions:
- One of the biological parents have to be passed away
- One biological parent needs to be incarcerated
- One of the biological parents has to be proven unfit to raise their child
- One of the parents willingly terminated their rights (or through litigation)
- There are documented cases of abuse or neglect to their child
Contact Our Law Firm Today
Being a stepparent is difficult. In addition to the many challenges stepparents face, there are also step-parent adoption challenges as well. If you’re a stepparent that wants the same rights as a biological parent, you can contact our law firm–Taylor Law & Mediation PLLC–to speak with a stepparent attorney in Idaho.