Can a same-sex stepparent adopt in Kentucky?

Yes, a same-sex stepparent can petition to adopt a stepchild in Kentucky. You file in the Circuit Court in your county, using the Kentucky stepparent adoption steps found in Kentucky Revised Statutes Chapter 199. Here is what those steps look like.

Where you file: The petition goes to the Circuit Court in your county. The clerk's office can tell you about local filing procedures.

Residency: There is no waiting period for Kentucky residents (KRS § 199.470). Non-residents need 12 months in the state.

Consent and the other parent: Kentucky's paperwork includes a Petition for Adoption, consent forms (or a motion to dispense with consent), and your spouse's consent to the adoption.

• If the child is 12 or older, the child's consent is part of the process (KRS § 199.500).
• If the other legal parent will not or cannot consent, Kentucky has a 3-month abandonment period (KRS § 199.502). In practice, 90 days of no contact can establish grounds to proceed.
• If you don't know where the other parent is, Kentucky allows service by publication. Otherwise, a sheriff or process server can deliver the papers personally.

Home study: It is waived for stepparent adoptions in Kentucky (KRS § 199.473).

Background check: Petitioners need a criminal background check through the Kentucky State Police.

Timeline and cost: Stepparent adoptions in Kentucky typically take 3-6 months. Court filing fees run $150-$300, and the total is typically under $1,000, compared with $3,000-$5,000+ for an attorney.

Situations that depend on your facts: Some questions turn on your family's circumstances, so confirm them with the Circuit Court clerk in your county or with an attorney. These include:

• Whether you are married, or are a couple who are not married and are asking about a second-parent adoption.
• How the court will handle a contested case.
• How the court will handle a situation where the other legal parent is unknown.
• How the child's birth record is updated afterward. The Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics is the agency to ask about that.

How we help: StepParent Adoption 360 is a document preparation service, not a law firm. You answer questions online, and we prepare the complete court document package for your county. You then file it yourself, without an attorney. The price is $349 for the first child (or one adult adoptee) and $99 for each additional child. Court-ready documents arrive within 24-48 hours after you finish the questions, and we back them with a 100% court acceptance guarantee.