Can I adopt multiple stepchildren at once in Maine?

Yes, you can include more than one stepchild in your Maine stepparent adoption paperwork, and our service prepares the documents for several children together. The petition goes to the Probate Court in your county. Maine has 16 counties, and the Probate Court clerk in your county can tell you how that court handles more than one child in a single case.

What stays the same for every child:

• Court: Your paperwork is filed with the Probate Court under Maine Revised Statutes Title 18-C, Article 9.
• Residency: Maine has no minimum residency period (18-C M.R.S. § 9-301), so you don't have to wait out a set time before filing.
• Home study: It is waived in Maine stepparent adoptions (18-C M.R.S. § 9-304). That means no home-study visits for you to schedule for each child.
• Timeline: Stepparent adoptions in Maine typically take 3-6 months.

Each child's age matters. Maine's child consent age is 12 (18-C M.R.S. § 9-302). If your children are different ages, the consent step may look different from child to child. A child under 12 and a child over 12 in the same family are not in the same position on this point.

When the children have different situations. Some families have siblings with the same other parent. Others have children with different other parents, or a situation where one other parent is not involved. In Maine, the abandonment period is 6 months (18-C M.R.S. § 9-204; 22 M.R.S. § 4002(1-A)). Whether it applies to any of your children depends on the facts of each one. If an other parent is absent, can't be found, or may object, the Probate Court clerk or a Maine family law attorney can advise you on that specific issue.

Cost and fees. Our fees are $349 for the first child and $99 for each additional child. The Probate Court sets its own filing fee, so ask the clerk in your county what it will be for your family. Questions about updated birth certificates after the adoption go to the Maine Office of Vital Records.

Questions to ask the clerk before you file:

• Whether children can be included in one petition or need separate filings in your county.
• The filing fee for your family's situation.
• Whether the court will schedule everyone for the same hearing.
• Any local requirements for children of different ages.

How we help. StepParent Adoption 360 is a document preparation service, not a law firm. You answer questions online about your family, 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, and we offer a 100% court acceptance guarantee. We have helped 151 Maine families, and more than 34,000 families nationally since 2001.