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

Yes, in Tennessee you and your spouse can each adopt the other's children from prior relationships. Each adoption is a stepparent adoption, filed in the Chancery or Circuit Court in your county. Whether the two are filed together or one after the other, and how your county's clerk handles two petitions from one family, is something the Chancery or Circuit Court clerk can confirm.

What each adoption involves:

• The petition: Each adopting spouse files a Petition for Adoption, along with a sworn statement of financial responsibility.
• Spouse's consent: The other spouse must consent to the adoption. In a cross-adoption, each of you is giving this consent for the other's petition.
• The other legal parent: Each child's other parent must either consent or be the subject of an abandonment finding. Tennessee's abandonment period is 4 months (Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-1-113). Because termination is not a separate case in Tennessee, it is not an extra proceeding for you to file.
• Children 14 and older: A child who is 14 or older must consent to their own adoption (Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-1-117).
• Residency: Tennessee sets no minimum residency period (Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-1-115).
• Home study: It is waived in stepparent adoptions (Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-1-116).

If the other parent can't be found: Tennessee allows service by publication after a diligent search. Personal service by a sheriff or process server is also allowed. If a parent will not consent, or you are unsure whether abandonment applies, that depends on your family's facts. Talk to the court clerk or an attorney about that specific issue.

Timeline: Stepparent adoptions in Tennessee typically take 3-6 months. If your two adoptions are filed together, your clerk can tell you how the court is likely to schedule them.

Cost: Court filing fees run about $150-$350. The total for a family handling the paperwork themselves is typically under $1,000, compared with $3,000-$5,000+ for an attorney. Ask your clerk whether two adoptions mean two filing fees in your county.