Grandparent & Relative Adoption in Texas

When Grandparents or Relatives Adopt

Relative adoptions — sometimes called kinship adoptions — occur when a family member takes on full legal parenthood of a child. The most common scenario involves grandparents adopting a grandchild when the biological parents are unable or unwilling to care for the child. But uncles, aunts, adult siblings, and other relatives may also petition to adopt.

These adoptions are often born of difficult circumstances: parental substance abuse, mental illness, incarceration, abandonment, or death. Yet they carry enormous meaning. The relative who steps forward is often someone the child already loves and trusts, and the adoption formalizes a bond the child already lives.

Texas law treats relative adoptions largely the same as other adoptions, with some differences in standing requirements and, when DFPS (Child Protective Services) is involved, in the process pathway.

Standing to File for Adoption

To file a petition for adoption in Texas, you must have legal standing. For relative adoptions, standing typically arises from one of these circumstances:

• You are a relative of the child within the third degree of consanguinity (grandparents, aunts/uncles, siblings, first cousins) or by marriage
• You are a current foster parent with whom the child has lived for at least 12 months
• You have had actual possession and control of the child for at least six months within the 90 days before filing
• The court has conferred standing on you as being in the best interest of the child (Texas Family Code § 153.002)

In practice, grandparents who have been raising their grandchild — even informally — typically have standing based on actual care and possession. If you are unsure whether you have standing, a consultation with an attorney can clarify your position quickly.

Termination of Parental Rights

As with any adoption, the legal rights of the biological parents must be addressed before a relative can adopt. This may happen through:

• Voluntary relinquishment: One or both biological parents sign an affidavit of relinquishment, acknowledging that the adoption is in the child's best interest and voluntarily surrendering their parental rights.
• Involuntary termination: If the biological parents will not consent, the petitioning relative must seek termination of parental rights based on statutory grounds under TFC § 161.001 — such as abandonment, endangerment, or failure to support.
• Death: If a biological parent is deceased, that parent's rights are extinguished by operation of law, and only the surviving parent's rights need to be addressed.

Involuntary termination in contested relative adoption cases can be complex and emotionally difficult. The biological parents retain constitutional rights that cannot be overridden without clear and convincing evidence of a statutory ground and a finding that termination is in the child's best interest.

Kinship Placements

In many relative adoption cases, the child has been informally living with the relative for some time — perhaps through a private family arrangement, or as a kinship placement through DFPS. The legal process for formalizing that arrangement through adoption can vary depending on how the placement occurred.

Informal kinship arrangements (where a relative is caring for a child without any court order) can be converted to adoption, but require addressing parental rights as described above. If the arrangement involves a Kinship Care or Kinship Diversion agreement with DFPS, additional procedural steps apply and the agency may be a party to the case.

Relatives who have been approved as kinship caregivers through DFPS may be eligible for kinship support services during the adoption process, including financial assistance in some circumstances. An attorney can advise on what benefits may be available in your situation.

How This Differs from DFPS (CPS) Cases

If Child Protective Services has been involved with the family — through an investigation, a safety plan, or a court-ordered removal — the adoption process follows a different pathway through the Texas child welfare system.

In DFPS cases, the Department operates under its own set of rules, timelines, and court proceedings (called Suits Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship, or SAPCRs). Termination of parental rights in these cases is handled as part of the CPS case, and once the department's SAPCR is closed with parental rights terminated, the relative can then pursue adoption through a separate proceeding.

Relatives who are involved in an active CPS case are strongly encouraged to obtain independent legal representation as early as possible. Their interests and the department's interests do not always align, and having your own attorney ensures your rights as a prospective adoptive relative are protected throughout the process.

Note: This site does not handle active CPS/DFPS cases. If you are in a current CPS proceeding and seeking to adopt the child, contact Landers Family Law for guidance on how that process works and whether we can assist.

The Home Study Requirement

Relative adoptions in Texas generally require a home study unless the court waives it. Courts have discretion to waive the home study in cases involving a close relative (parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, or adult sibling) if the court finds a home study is not in the best interest of the child, though this waiver is less common than in stepparent cases.

Even when a formal home study is not required by the court, background checks for all adults in the household will be conducted as part of the adoption proceedings.

Frequently Asked Questions