What Is It?

Stepparent adoption is the process in which the spouse of a custodial parent adopts that parent’s child from a previous relationship.  The child’s other biological parent may have passed away, never known about the child, or may have actively chosen to not be involved in the child’s life.

How Long Does It Take To Complete?
Stepparent adoptions are often the quickest types of adoptions to complete, as most states have a developed a streamlined process for performing a stepparent adoptions eliminating steps such as the homestudy and background check, since everyone involved has already been living and functioning as a nuclear family.  A non-contested stepparent adoption can take as little as a few months to complete, depending on how backlogged your local family court system is, where as a contested stepparent adoption can drag on for years. 
 

What Is Involved In The Process?
If still living, the non-custodial parent must give his or her consent to the adoption, willingly terminating their parental rights before it can take place, or the courts must decide that the non-custodial parent is unfit to parent the child in question, and terminates their parental rights involuntarily. 

If the non-custodial parent cannot be located, than a public notice in the newspaper is required to run for a minimum of 30 days, stating the intent to perform a stepparent adoption.  If the non-custodial parent does not contact the court within the allotted time frame (which differs between counties) than the courts will act as though the non-custodial parent has willfully abandoned the child, and terminate their parental rights, allowing for the stepparent adoption to move forward.

It is important to keep in mind that most states require that the stepparent and the custodial biological parent have been married for at least a year before they will proceed with a stepparent adoption, with the purpose being to ensure that both the marriage and the family relationships are stable, positive and will [hopefully] last.
 

How Much Does It Cost?
Because stepparent adoption timelines can vary between a few months and a few years depending on whether it is contested or not by the non-custodial parent, so too do the fees that are associated with it.  Fees tend to start at just under $1000 and work their way up from there.  Some lawyers charge a flat rate for a simple stepparent adoption, which would be one that is not contested, while others will work for hourly wages only.  Those daring enough to navigate the legal system on their own should call their local courthouse to inquire if they need a lawyer to perform a stepparent adoption, as some states have also knocked lawyers out of the mix as well in an even greater effort to streamline the adoption process.