According to the 2010 U.S. Census, more than 224,000 children in Georgia live in the homes of their grandparents, and more than 116,000 of those children live in homes where their grandparents are solely responsible for them. More than 40 percent of those kids have neither of their parents living with them.
 

There are many blended families composed of children from prior marriages and relationships. Has the thought crossed your mind about whether to pursue a stepparent adoption?  A stepparent adoption is where the child’s custodial parent consents to the child being adopted by the new spouse.  Once the adoption is finalized the custodial parent and stepparent will equally be the legal parents of the child. 

 Often, when people think of adoption, they tend to think of only minor children under the age of 18.  However, in Georgia, not only minors may be adopted, but adults may be adopted as well.  Adults choose to be adopted for varying reasons, to include the following:

• To establish intestate inheritance rights; 
• To formalize a step-parent/step-child relationship;
• To formalize a foster parent/foster child relationship; 
• To legalize an adoption that was not finalized while that child was a minor; or
• To restore the original legal relationship between adult adoptees and their natural families. 

No matter how old you are, the desire is never lost for family.  Many adults also pursue adult adoptions to remove the stigma of not having a family and of not having a feeling of permanence.

The Putative Father Registry is a list of the names of men who have either acknowledged paternity of a child by completing the Paternity Acknowledgment form or indicated the possibility of paternity without acknowledging paternity of the child.