In Maryland, the consent of both biological parents (even if the adoptee is an adult) is required for a stepparent adoption. If the child is 10 or older, they’ll also need to consent to the adoption. If they’re under 18, they’ll need separate, independent legal counsel to take their consent.

In Virginia and Washington, D.C., any person over the age of 14 must give their consent to the stepparent adoption. Separate counsel is not required in these states. Both of the adoptee's biological parents must consent if the adoptee is younger than 18 years old. If they're 18 or older, their parents' consent is not required.

Even if you parted ways with your child’s other biological parent and haven’t kept in contact and even if they’ve never been involved in the child’s life, you’ll still need to make good faith efforts to notify them of the pending stepparent adoption.

If the parents are unknown or you don't know where they are, the court will require good faith efforts to locate them. If you're still unable to find them, the court may require you to publish notices in newspapers where the parent was last known to reside or work.

Sometimes, but typically the answer is no. The biological father must be served notice of the pending stepparent adoption.

If you’re unable to reach him (after completing good faith efforts to find and contact him) or if he doesn’t offer his consent, the adoption will proceed in court. The court will still need to address the biological father’s parental rights, determining if involuntarily terminating his rights  is in the best interest of the child. Otherwise, the birth father will need to give his consent and voluntarily terminate those parental rights.

If every attempt has been made to find and notify the other biological parent of the stepparent adoption petition and you are still unable to find the parent, the case will move forward in court and parental rights will be addressed. If the other biological parent does not offer consent to the adoption, the court will determine  if there are grounds to involuntarily terminate the parental rights.

However, most of the time, the consent of both biological parents is required for a stepparent to adopt a minor.

In most situations, the biological father will need to be notified of your petition to adopt your stepchild.

No, not unless the court decides it’s within the best interests of your child. In almost all cases, you’ll need to consent to the adoption.

In most situations, both biological parents must give their consent to an adoption and have their parental rights terminated in court.

In most stepparent adoptions, both biological parents must consent to the adoption unless the court rules otherwise.

If the child is over a certain age, he or she may need to consent to the adoption. In Maryland, the child will need to consent if they are 10 or older. If they’re under 18, they’ll need a separate, independent legal counsel to take their consent.

In Virginia and Washington, D.C., any child aged 14 or older must give their consent to the stepparent adoption. Separate counsel is not required in these states. Both the adoptee's biological parents must consent if the adoptee is younger than 18 years old. If they're 18 or older, parental consent is not required

If the child is over a certain age, he or she may need to consent to the adoption, as well. In Maryland, the child will need to consent if they are 10 or older. If they’re under 18 they’ll need a separate, independent legal counsel to take their consent.

In Virginia and Washington, D.C., any child aged 14 or older must give their consent to the stepparent adoption. Separate counsel is not required in these states. Both the adoptee's biological parents must consent if the adoptee is younger than 18 years old. If they're 18 or older, parental consent is not required.

“Is there a stepparent adoption consent form I can send to my child’s other biological parent?”

Many non-custodial biological parents are willing to consent to a stepparent adoption and allow their child's stepparent to become the legal parent. In these situations, you may wonder if it's as simple as printing out a form to give to your child's other biological parent. It’s usually more involved than that.

Some states do require the consenting biological parent to consent to the termination of their parental rights in court under oath. You’ll need to consult with us to learn what’s required in your situation.

Consult with an adoption attorney.  We’ll walk you through the consent process, which varies by state and situation. We’ll make the experience as easy and positive as possible for everyone involved.