Guardianships and Adoption

A Place for Peaceful Solutions

When it comes to family disputes among family members and loved ones, California puts the best interests of the child first. As an adoptive mother, experienced educator, and seasoned family law attorney, Judith A. Williams knows how important it is for all parties—including the attorneys—to do the same.

Whether you or your family are considering adoption or gaining guardianship of a child, contact Ms. Williams at her Santa Ana, California office for experienced advice and respected representation of an Orange County family law attorney.

Southern California Guardianships
Guardianship is the process by which a family court appoints a person to act as legal guardian of a child when the parents can no longer adequately care for the child. Guardianships may be created when a parent has:

• Died
• Abandoned the child
• Assumed military responsibility
• Failed to adequately care for the child due to neglect or substance abuse
• Caused a reasonable fear of child abuse

A legal guardian is responsible for the care, custody, and control of the child, and any associated property. Once appointed, a guardian must assume many, if not all, of the parent’s responsibilities and rights, providing children with the necessities of food, clothes, shelter, education, and medical care, taking responsibility for the safety and protection of the child.

A guardianship is terminated when the child is adopted, marries, dies, enters military service, or reaches the age of majority. A court may terminate a guardianship upon a finding that the guardianship is no longer necessary.

Southern California Adoptions
An adoption terminates the parental rights of the biological parent and creates a new legal parent child-relationship with the adoptive parents. A new birth certificate is issued, and all rights of the biological parent are revoked. Unlike guardianships, an adoption is permanent, and eliminates the biological parents’ rights to that child.

The adopting parents have the discretion of choosing a Closed Adoption or Open Adoption. In a closed adoption, there is no contact between the biological parents and the child. In an open adoption, the adoptive parents may allow limited contact or more substantive relationship as deemed appropriate.

Stepparent adoptions
Current California law requires that a couple be married for 12 months before a stepparent adoption petition may be filed. However, it may be wise to begin the process sooner if the biological parent is opposed to the adoption. In such a case, the biological parent’s rights may need to be terminated in a court action. The current basis for termination of parental rights is Abandonment, which is based upon the parent’s failure to communicate and or support the child for a period of 12 consecutive months.

Agency Adoptions
In cases when children have been removed from parental control by the Department of Family and Children Services (DFCS) the parental rights of the biological parent may be terminated by the court, freeing the child for adoption. Ms. Williams’ serves on the dependency court panel, and is often appointed to represent prospective adoptive parents.

Serving individuals in the Orange County area, including Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Garden Grove, Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, Tustin, Westminster, Irvine, Lake Forest, Mission Viejo, and Aliso Viejo

Law Office of Judith A. Williams
Center for Mediated Divorce
The Carriage House
1604 East Fourth Street
Santa Ana, California 92701
Phone: (714) 973-7917
Fax: (714) 973-8462
E-mail: Contact Us