Second-Parent Adoption
The best thing to do if you are not a legal parent but wish to become one to a child you have with your partner is to seek a second-parent adoption. A second-parent adoption allows a second parent to adopt a child without the "first parent" losing any parental rights. In this way, the child comes to have two legal parents: you and your partner. It also typically grants adoptive parents the same rights as biological parents in custody and visitation matters.