Can both my spouse and I adopt each other's children from prior relationships in Missouri?

Yes, in Missouri each of you can ask the Circuit Court to adopt your spouse's child. The statute lets "any person desiring to adopt another person as his or her child" petition (RSMo § 453.010.1), so you can adopt your spouse's children while your spouse adopts yours.

How it works:

• Each adoption is a stepparent adoption, filed in the Circuit Court in your county.
• Whether the cases are filed together or one after the other, and how your county handles that, is a question for the Circuit Court clerk in your county.
• If both of you have children, each child's adoption has its own consent questions, so work through them child by child.

Requirements to know for each child:

• Residency: Missouri has no minimum residency period (RSMo § 453.010).
• Child's consent: A child who is 14 or older must consent (RSMo § 453.030).
• The other parent: The child's other legal parent generally needs to consent, or the court must find the child was abandoned. Missouri's abandonment period is 6 months (RSMo § 453.040). Whether your facts meet that standard, or what to do when a parent is unknown or objects, depends on your situation. Ask the clerk or a family law attorney.
• Home study: The home study is waived in stepparent adoptions (RSMo § 453.070).
• Background checks: Missouri requires background checks for child safety, including a criminal background check for the stepparent. Expect this for each adopting spouse.

If a child is already an adult: Missouri permits adult adoption. When the person being adopted is 18 or older, their own written consent alone is sufficient, and the parental consents that apply to minors do not. Adult adoptions typically take 4-8 weeks.