Can I adopt my stepchild if I work out of state but live in Kansas?

Yes, you can pursue a stepparent adoption in Kansas while living in Kansas and working out of state, and Kansas sets no minimum residency period for it (K.S.A. § 59-2126(c)). There is no waiting period to meet before you file, and nothing in Kansas's residency provision sets a time-in-state requirement.

Where your job fits in. The Kansas rules we work from say nothing specific about out-of-state employment, so whether your work location could matter in your particular situation is a question for the District Court clerk in your county. The same goes for which of Kansas's 105 counties is the right place to file. A quick call to the clerk settles both.

Other parts of the process that still apply to you:

• Court: Stepparent adoptions are handled by the District Court.
• Paperwork: You will need a Petition for Adoption, a background information form, your spouse's consent to the adoption, and the filing fee.
• Child's consent: A child who is 14 or older must consent (K.S.A. § 59-2129).
• Other parent's consent: If the other legal parent does not consent, the abandonment period in Kansas is 24 months (K.S.A. § 59-2136). If this applies to you, or the other parent's whereabouts are unknown, the details depend on your facts, so talk with the clerk or an attorney about your specific case.
• Home study: Kansas waives the home study for stepparent adoptions (K.S.A. § 59-2132), so there is no home study to schedule around your travel.
• Timing of consent: Kansas allows consent to be signed any time after the child's birth.
• Serving the other parent: Notice can be delivered by the sheriff or a process server, or by publication if the other parent's location is unknown.

Time and cost. Stepparent adoptions in Kansas typically take 3-6 months. Court filing fees generally run $150-$300, and the total typically comes to under $1,000 when you handle the filing yourself. Hiring an attorney commonly costs $3,000-$5,000 or more.

Practical tip for people who travel. Because the process is mostly paperwork, you can complete much of it from home, and the paperwork is usually the easy part. Your spouse's consent and the other required forms can be gathered and signed when everyone is available. If your work schedule could keep you from a court date, ask the clerk how scheduling works in your county.

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, which you then file yourself without an attorney. The price is $349 for the first child, plus $99 for each additional child. Court-ready documents are delivered within 24-48 hours after you finish the questions, and we back them with a 100% court acceptance guarantee. We have helped 891 Kansas families, and 34,000+ families nationally since 2001.