Colorado Step Parent Adoption Process
A very common type of adoption process in Colorado is called a Step Parent Adoption. A Step Parent Adoption occurs when usually one of the parents, after a divorce or a type of custody case, has now remarried. You can have the primary parent, such as Mom, who is now remarried, and her new spouse has taken a significant role in raising the children, and wants to adopt the children as his own.
Let me discuss a little bit about how a step parent adoption works. There are two phases to a step parent adoption. The first phase is called a Termination of Parental Rights, and in that scenario what the court has to determine is whether or not the biological parent has done something, or not done something, that would result in that parent losing all parental responsibilities. If you have a parent who was ordered to pay child support, or was requested by a court and orders to be financially responsible for children, and that parent has abandoned the children, and not provided the children with support. A step parent can come in a provide that support. The court may grant a request for a step parent adoption, and terminate the biological parent’s parental rights, thereby making the children the responsibility of that step parent.
It’s a very rewarding process for a court to see that children are going to be taken care of by a step parent.
Remembering Pearl Harbor Day
Today, December 7th is “pearl harbor day.” On this day, i think back to that fateful day. A day which FDR said was to live in “infamy.” A nation with a third rate armed forces that was bombed into oblivion on the island Oahu.
My father said, that as a boy, he and his family gathered around the radio at his grandmother’s house that Sunday afternoon, wondering where this place they were hearing about, was. Was it on the mainland. Was it on the west coast somewhere. Where the heck was this place, “pearl harbor.”
And then my mind goes back to that Sunday morning, just after sunrise. Soldiers and sailors doing what they do on Sunday mornings: raise the colors, go to church, write their mothers a letter, clean their quarters, report for duty. . . .
I think about the young men, many my son’s age now, or younger, boys really, stationed aboard the USS Arizona and USS Oklahoma, who died that day, “may they rest in peace.” They never had a chance as many of them, literally went down with the ship, pounding out morse code on the vessel’s hull to let rescuer’s know that they were still there, and many still remain.
But that was 75 years ago .. .
They loved their country, had parents, sisters, brothers, aunts and uncles, back home. They were serving their county, when a hail of Japanese bullets and bombs prematurely ended their lives. I am sure many of them did not know or recognize the horror that engulfed them. Some fought back, many could not. Some died trying. They were the most brave among us, the valiant, the dedicated, those with spirit in their hearts doing what they were trained to do.
It was a “sun filled Sunday morning.” The seas in the harbor were calm, the wind was a gentle breeze. Then the skies opened up with the sound that no one could have imagined.
It lasted a little over an hour.
What this day means to me, is a reflection on the value of human life. That human life can end so abruptly for reasons that we can not understand. That a young man can leave his family with only the gunny sack on his shoulders and end up coming back in a box. This is what war is.
We must all reflect on that day and give our thanks in quiet resolution and meditation. I pray for the souls of those who did not make it that day. Not because of who they were, but because of where they were.
Today, most of those who survived, are now gone. But, we must not forget them and what they endured that day.
Dec. 7th will always be a day i will remember and a day that will cause me to have, pause. I give pause to reflect in my own way.
So, when you go about your day, on December 7th, please think about those young men, young adults who were lost that day and what that means to you.
How Do Charges and Fees Work at the Law Offices of Gordon Shayne?
How do charges and fees work when you hire me as your lawyer, or the Law Offices of Gordon Shayne? We take a lot of pride in the fact that we sit down with clients who come in and hire us, and go over a very extensive fee agreement that is a written contract between the client and me.
Are you preparing to file for divorce? Looking for answers on how the divorce process works? Visit www.ShayneLaw.com to find your answers. Get in touch with us today for any of your Colorado Springs family law needs.
How Do I Find the Right Divorce Lawyer?
For the most part, I believe that the selection of a divorce attorney is going to be the second biggest decision you make after your decision to terminate or dissolve your marriage. What you should be looking for is a level of comfort with the attorney and the attorney’s staff.
Are you preparing to file for divorce? Looking for answers on how the divorce process works? Visit www.ShayneLaw.com to find your answers. Get in touch with us today for any of your Colorado Springs family law needs.
What Exactly Does A “No Fault Divorce State” Mean?
Essentially there are a number of states in the United States that say you don’t need a reason in order to get a divorce or ask for a legal separation. It says that Colorado judges are not allowed to consider fault in granting the divorce.
Most of the time, in most cases, that just means that somebody from either party- it only takes one of the two parties that are married- to say that a marriage is irretrievably broken. That means no fault. I’m not going to assign a responsibility for why I need to get a divorce or a legal separation, but in my situation, I feel it’s a personal reason. I don’t even want to or need to give an explanation to a judge.
In fact, most of the time a judge will hold that evidence of fault is not relevant to a case, and a judge is going to enter a divorce decree regardless of who’s at fault or whose misconduct resulted in the break up of a marriage.