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Family Court Services conducting stepparent adoption investigations (Family Code Section 9000) only where the petitioner has requested it, and Declare Free from Parental Custody and Control investigations only with a concurrently filed stepparent adoption; a copy of the filed petition and supporting documents, and of later filings, provided to Family Court Services (Room 204, Visalia Courthouse) or the counter clerks at the South County Justice Center; Phase I, the adoption petition alone, where the non-custodial parent's written consent (form AD2A_2B), the parent's death certificate or the order terminating the parent's rights is filed with the petition, and Phase II, where a petition to Declare Free From Parental Custody and Control is filed with the adoption petition and given a court date at filing; the case assigned to a Court Investigator only after the mandatory local questionnaire, the verification documents, the stepparent's Live Scan fingerprinting (the forms from the Self-Help Resource Center, a copy of the completed form to Family Court Services or the SCJC front counter) and the references are received, an investigation by a private therapist not assigned to the court; interviews at the Family Court Services offices with the custodial parent, the adoptive stepparent and the children, a report and recommendation mailed, and the petitioner then placing the adoption on calendar, after the 60-day appeal period where parental rights were terminated; any investigation fee ordered paid at the hearing, separate from the filing fee; a call after 30 days returned within 48 hours; the children not required at the termination hearing unless ordered but present at the adoption hearing, children age 7 and older interviewed and children 12 and older consenting in open court; and a child who turns 18 during the investigation not adoptable as a stepchild.
California > Fifth Appellate District > Tulare County > Superior Court of California, County of Tulare
For general adoption information, visit the Judicial Counsel of California Self-Help Guide to adoptions. Family Court Services only conducts Investigations related to Stepparent Adoptions pursuant to Family Code Section 9000 in which the petitioner has requested that Family Court Services conduct the investigation. Family Court Services also conducts any Declare Free from Parental Custody and Control investigations filed with the Court related to a concurrently filed Stepparent adoption ONLY. The Stepparent/Domestic Partner Adoption Packet can be found in the local forms on the court website re: Stepparent Adoption Once your petition for Stepparent Adoption (including a petition for Freedom from Parental Custody and Control, if applicable) and any related supporting documents are filed with the Court (see packet instructions above), you or your attorney will provide a copy of your filed documents to Family Court Services, Room 204, at the Visalia Courthouse; or provide a set to the counter clerks at the South County Justice Center, which will be routed to Family Court Services. A copy of any subsequently filed documents should be provided to Family Court Services. Stepparent or Domestic Partner Adoption Investigation Process: There are potentially two phases to the Stepparent Adoption Investigation process here in Tulare County. Phase I is a petition for Stepparent Adoption only, wherein the non-custodial parent has consented (agreed in writing) to the stepparent/domestic partner adopting the child. The form used for this consent is the Stepparent Adoption (Consent to Adoption by a Parent..): AD2A_2B and should be filed with your petition or, if the non-custodial parent is deceased, the death certificate of the non-custodial parent shall be filed with your petition; or if the non-custodial parent’s rights have been terminated by Court Order, this Order shall be filed with the petition. If these situations above do not apply, then our Investigation enters Phase II, where a petition for Declare Free From Parental Custody and Control will be required to be filed with the Stepparent Adoption petition. Phase I- Stepparent/Domestic Partner Adoption Petition Only: Once Family Court Services has been provided copies of the petition for Stepparent/Domestic Partner, your case will be assigned to Family Court Services staff if you selected in the Stepparent Adoption petition for the Court to conduct the investigation. If you selected for a private therapist to conduct the investigation, then the matter will not be assigned to a Court Investigator. Once all mandatory documents have been received including all requested documents including the local form Stepparent/Domestic Partner Adoption Informational Questionnaire ( STEPPARENT ADOPTION INFORMATIONAL QUESTIONNAIRE), all verification documents, and the proposed stepparent has completed LiveScan background fingerprinting, and all references have been received, then the case will be assigned to a Court Investigator/Child Custody Recommending Counselor. The Court Investigator will contact the petitioners to conduct interviews to be held at the Family Court Services offices with the custodial parent, the adoptive stepparent, and the minor children to be adopted. The Court Investigator will then write a report and make a recommendation to the Court regarding whether the stepparent adoption is in the child’s best interest, and whether the petitioner is a suitable adoptive stepparent/domestic partner. Once the adopting stepparent receives the completed report in the mail, the petitioner and/or their attorney of record, will then place the matter on calendar for the stepparent adoption hearing. It is important to note that the Court Investigator can only proceed with your investigation if all of the information referenced above is received. It is the responsibility of the proposed adoptive parent to keep in contact with Family Court Services regarding the progress of your investigation. If you have a change in contact information, it is mandatory that you notify Family Court Services staff at (559) 730-5000, Option 6 with this updated information. You will be directed to contact the Self-Help Resource Center or your attorney to file the necessary change of contact information with the Court, and to provide FCS with a copy. If FCS staff are not able to reach you to conduct the interviews, this will delay your court process. Phase II-Stepparent/Domestic Partner Adoption Investigation Process with a Petition to Declare a Minor Free from Custody or Control: Please note that the process to declare a minor free from the custody and control (terminating parental rights) of a non-custodial parent is a complex process and many parties seek legal assistance during this process. The Court Investigator/Child Custody Recommending Counselor does not and cannot provide legal advice on these matters. Once Family Court Services has been provided copies of the petition for Stepparent/Domestic Partner Adoption AND any petition for Freedom from Parental Custody and Control, your case will be assigned to Family Court Services Court Investigator/Child Custody Recommending Counselor if you selected in the Stepparent Adoption petition for the Court to conduct the investigation. If you selected for a private therapist to conduct the investigation, then the matter will not be assigned to a Court Investigator. At the time of filing, there is a court date set for the petition for Freedom from Parental Custody and Control. As such, it is very important that ALL mandatory documents have been received as soon as possible (and ideally filed with your petition) including all requested documents including the mandatory local form Stepparent/Domestic Partner Adoption Informational Questionnaire ( STEPPARENT ADOPTION INFORMATIONAL QUESTIONNAIRE), all verification documents, and the proposed stepparent has completed LiveScan fingerprinting. Once received, the Court Investigator will contact the petitioners to conduct interviews to occur at the Family Court Services offices with the custodial parent, the adoptive parent, and the minor children to be adopted. The Court Investigator will then write a report and make a recommendation to the Court regarding whether the termination of parental rights of the non-custodial parent meets the criterion listed in the petition before the Court, and whether termination of the parental rights of the non-custodial parent is in the best interest of the child. This report will be mailed to the parties of record. It is important to note that the Court Investigator can only proceed with your investigation until all of the information referenced above is received. It is the responsibility of the proposed adoptive parent to keep in contact with Family Court Services regarding the progress of your investigation. If you have a change in contact information, it is mandatory that you notify Family Court Services staff at (559) 730-5000, Option 6 with this updated information. You will be directed to contact the Self-Help Resource Center or your attorney to file the necessary change of contact information with the Court, and to provide FCS with a copy. If FCS staff are not able to reach you to conduct the interviews, this will delay your court process. It is common for the Declare Free from Parental Custody and Control phase of the investigation to take several months to complete, with multiple court hearings, especially if proper attempts to locate and notice the non-custodial parent has not been completed to the satisfaction of the Court. If the Court terminates the parental rights of the non-custodial parent, the petitioner should notify the Court Investigator so that the Stepparent Adoption report may be prepared and submitted, after the mandatory 60-day appeal period is exhausted. There may be delays to this completion of the stepparent adoption process if all reference letters are not received as requested by Family Court Services, or LiveScan fingerprinting is not completed by the petitioner. Once the adopting stepparent receives the completed report in the mail, the petitioner and/or their attorney of record, will then place the matter on calendar for the stepparent adoption hearing. Contact with the Court Investigator/Child Custody Recommending Counselor: When the Court Investigator contacts the proposed adoptive parent, the Court Investigator will ask you questions about you and your household members so that an inquiry may be made to obtain any Child Protective Services involvement with the family. This is one reason why accurate and detailed information is necessary in the mandatory local form, STEPPARENT ADOPTION INFORMATIONAL QUESTIONNAIRE, as noted above. If this information is incomplete, this may also delay your court process. In addition, the Court Investigator checks local court records on the parties in the case and provides a summary of this information to the Court in the reports. Mandatory Background Check for the Adoptive Parent: In Tulare County, the proposed adoptive parent shall complete a CLETS background check through the LiveScan process in the State of California. The Court Investigator will inquire into the status of the completion of the required Live Scan Fingerprinting. The Live Scan Fingerprint form may be obtained from the Self-Help Resource Center at either Court location. It can sometimes take months to receive results from the Department of Justice, so it is important this is completed ASAP, otherwise it may cause a delay in the investigation. Please remember to turn in a copy of the completed Live Scan form to Family Court Services in Room 204 of the Visalia Courthouse, or to the front counter at SCJC, who will forward it to FCS staff. This way we can track your results. Court Investigator Fees: If the Court assess a fee for the Court Investigation, you will be ordered to pay these fees at the time of the Court hearing for the Stepparent Adoption and any related investigation for Freedom from Parental Custody and Control. This is a separate fee than the filing fee. FAQs How long does this process take? There is not a simple answer to this question, and it is dependent on many factors. It can take a few months to six or more months. A major factor is how quickly forms are returned and the accuracy of the form completion. How do I find out who my court investigator is? If you have not received a call within 30 days of the court referring the matter to FCS for investigation, you may contact FCS at 559-730-5000, Option 6 and request the name and telephone number of the assigned investigator. Staff will return your call within 48 hours of receipt, unless they are out of the office. Where do I get the Live Scan forms to submit for the proposed conservators? You may contact the Self-Help Resource Center located in both Visalia and at the South County Justice Center to obtain the Live Scan background fingerprint forms and instructions. Where do I take the completed Live Scan form? To Family Court Services in Visalia (Room 204) or to the front counter at the clerk’s office at SCJC, which will be routed to FCS for tracking the results. Do the children need to be present at the court hearings? The children do not need to be present at the hearing for the termination of the non-custodial parental rights unless they are ordered to by the Court. The children to be adopted must be present at the Stepparent Adoption hearing. May I bring family to the Stepparent Adoption hearing? Yes, you may bring family and a camera to take a picture with the Judge, if so desired, to celebrate the happy occasion! Do I have to tell the children to be adopted about the Stepparent Adoption? Yes. If you are asking the Court to terminate the non-custodial parents’ rights, children age 7 and older will be interviewed by the Court Investigator and must be asked statutory questions about their non-custodial parent, with a few exceptions. It is not the role of the Court Investigator to inform the child of their non-custodial parent. If the non-custodial parent has consented to the adoption, the same statutory questions are not required, but the children will be in Court and will hear that the proceedings involve a stepparent adoption, so exposure to the topic is important. The child will be asked in the interview about what they know about the adoption and whether they consent to the adoption. Children ages 12 and older must consent to the adoption, and will sign a consent in open court at the court hearing. My spouse/domestic partner and I have been married less than a year. May we still petition the court for stepparent adoption? Yes. Although the Court prefers that the proposed adoptive parent and the custodial parent have been married/in a domestic partnership for more than a year, this is addressed on a case-by-case basis during the investigation. Many factors are considered such as the duration of the relationship between the proposed adoptive parent and the child. I have a criminal background. Will this prevent me from adoption my stepchildren? Not necessarily. Every situation is evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and this will be addressed in the interviews with the Court Investigator. One of my stepchildren is almost 18 years old. Can I still adopt? If the child turns the age of majority (age 18) during the investigation, that child cannot be adopted through a stepparent adoption. If the parties desire to proceed with an adoption after the age of 18, they may consider an Adult Adoption. There are currently no Judicial Council forms for this process and the parties would have to conduct their own research. The link above about Adoptions also has additional information. The Law Library located on the Ground Floor of the Visalia Courthouse has examples of forms used for this process in the Procedural books under the topic “Adult Adoption”. What if I decide I do not want to continue to pursue the adoption during this process? You may file a request for dismissal with the Court. Please contact the Self-Help Resource Center or your attorney for direction. Please be sure to serve these documents on Family Court Services. Related Links California Courts Self-Help California Courts Self-Help Local Self-Help Resource Center Local Self-Help Resource Center Local Forms and Packet Information Local Forms and Packet Information
For general adoption information, visit the Judicial Counsel of California Self-Help Guide to adoptions. Family Court Services only conducts Investigations related to Stepparent Adoptions pursuant to Family Code Section 9000 in which the petitioner has requested that Family Court Services conduct the investigation. Family Court Services also conducts any Declare Free from Parental Custody and Cont
Reviewer note: Composed 2026-10-14 (California T4 Tulare build 2026-10-14) from BenchPath custody ca/t4/ca-tulare/pages/stepparentdomestic-partner-adoption.html (the page as fetched 2026-10-14; 641044 bytes, sha256 f735fa9769445b1c6363ca686699cee7ef196c3d073c33544a28eed72ec312fe) with the Orange HTML composer (compose-site.py, the Judicial Council theme's area): the article's content sections (section.jcc-section), news bodies (div.jcc-news-full) and title banners (div.jcc-hero; the first banner's heading, the page title, is chrome) - the site header, menus, breadcrumb and footer lie outside them; each block starts a line and each table cell is set on its own line; chrome removed: 1 item (the page title, “Stepparent/Domestic Partner Adoption”); proof (the multiset of non-space characters equals the containers' text less chrome and scripts) passes. Review note: The page places Family Court Services in Room 204, as Rule 919(b) does; Rule 1063 (carded with Chapter 10) says room 203 - the review task on that card asks which room. The page links the questionnaire ADO-007 (rev. 8/30/22, held), while the court's Stepparent Adoption Packet (held) carries it as FCS-506 (Rev. Jan 2024).
6 verbatim requirements on divisional requirements in GIUSEPPINA MIRANDA's division.
4 verbatim requirements on divisional requirements in HILARY CREARY's division.