Can a stepparent adopt a child born out of wedlock in Delaware?

Yes, a stepparent can pursue adoption of a child born out of wedlock in Delaware. The requirements we work with focus on you and the court process, not on whether the child's parents were married when the child was born.

What Delaware looks at for you as the adopting stepparent:

• Age and residency: Under 13 Del. C. § 903, you must be over age 21 when the petition is filed, and also a Delaware resident or a person with whom a child has been placed. Delaware sets no minimum residency period (13 Del. C. § 903).
• Court: The case is filed in Family Court.
• Child's consent: Delaware sets a child-consent age of 14 (13 Del. C. § 907(b)).
• Home study: Delaware does not waive the home study for stepparent adoptions (13 Del. C. § 912).
• Timeline: Stepparent adoptions in Delaware typically take 4-6 months.

Where the birth circumstances come in: The child's birth circumstances matter mainly for the other biological parent. Delaware has a 6-month abandonment period (13 Del. C. § 1103), and termination of the other parent's rights is handled as a separate step. Which path fits you depends on your facts:

• The other parent is named on the birth certificate.
• The other parent is not named.
• The other parent's identity or whereabouts are unknown.
• The other parent is involved but disagrees.

How Delaware law treats each of these, including who must be notified and whether that parent's consent is needed, is something to confirm with the Family Court clerk in your county or with an attorney. This is especially important if the situation is contested or the other parent is unknown. The same goes for the current filing fee, which the clerk can confirm.

Getting your records in order: Start with the child's birth certificate. The Delaware Office of Vital Statistics is the agency to contact if you need a certified copy or have questions about what your records show. Knowing exactly what the certificate says will make it much easier to describe your situation accurately.

A practical way to think about it: Rather than asking "was my child born out of wedlock?", ask these questions:

• Am I over 21 and eligible under § 903?
• Does the child's other parent need to be addressed, and how?
• Is the child 14 or older, so that consent applies?
• Am I prepared for the home study?

If you can answer those, you have a clear picture of what the Family Court will want to see.

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 Delaware county. You then file it yourself without an attorney. The price is $349 for the first child and $99 for each additional child. Court-ready documents are delivered within 24-48 hours after you finish the questions, backed by our 100% court acceptance guarantee. We have helped 89 Delaware families, and more than 34,000 families nationally since 2001.