Can a stepfather adopt his wife's child in Massachusetts?

Yes, a stepfather can adopt his wife's child in Massachusetts, by filing a petition in the Probate and Family Court. This is the situation stepparent adoption is built for, and we have helped 162 Massachusetts families with it. Here is what to know as you plan.

Where you file. Massachusetts adoptions go through the Probate and Family Court, which sits in each of the state's 14 counties. The clerk's office in your county can tell you the current filing fee and local filing procedures.

Residency. Under M.G.L. c. 210 § 1, Massachusetts has no minimum residency period you must meet before filing.

Consent. Consent is usually the central question in a stepparent adoption.

• The child's consent: Under M.G.L. c. 210 § 2, a child above age 12 must give written consent to the adoption.
• The other legal parent: Section 2 also requires the written consent of the child's lawful parents. In most stepfather adoptions, that means the biological father needs to sign a consent.
• If he won't consent or can't be found: Abandonment is addressed in M.G.L. c. 210 § 3. Massachusetts sets no fixed number of months for abandonment. It depends on the parent's overall conduct. Because every family's history is different, a contested case or an unknown or missing father is a situation where you should check with the Probate and Family Court clerk or an attorney about your specific facts.

Home study. Home study is waived for stepparent adoptions in Massachusetts (M.G.L. c. 210 § 5A), so you generally don't need to schedule one as part of the process.

Timeline. A stepparent adoption in Massachusetts typically takes 3-6 months. How quickly yours moves depends on how soon the consents are in place and on your county's court schedule.

What to gather first.

• Your marriage information and the child's basic details
• A plan for getting the biological father's written consent, or a clear picture of his contact with the child if consent isn't possible
• The child's own consent, if your child is above age 12

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. Court-ready documents are delivered within 24-48 hours after you finish the questions. The price is $349 for the first child and $99 for each additional child, and our 100% court acceptance guarantee applies.