Q: As a step mother can I adopt my step son if my husband had majority custody and we’ve had him his entire life of 13yrs?
His dad has custodial and domiciled custody and his birth mom gets visitation and was ordered to pay child support, but she doesn’t do it on time or anything else for him and she forfeits her visitation periods often.
A: Yes, you have standing to adopt. Whether the birth mother has to consent or can object to the hearing is another issue. This depends on whether she has failed to pay a court order of support or failed to communicate with the child without just cause for over 6 months. Give me a call and I’ll be happy to discuss this with you further, including the process and anticipated costs.
A: If she hasn't seen him or supported him for 6 months you can hire an adoption attorney and adopt.
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