Can I adopt my stepchild if I'm in a same-sex marriage in Louisiana?

Yes, if you are legally married to your stepchild's parent, you can ask a Louisiana District Court for a stepparent adoption, and the steps below are the ones that apply to you. Louisiana handles stepparent adoptions as intrafamily adoptions under Louisiana Children's Code Title XII, and the process is built around you and your spouse as a married couple. If you have a question specific to your family's situation, the District Court clerk in your parish or an attorney can confirm how it applies.

What you file: Louisiana requires these documents, among others:

• A Petition for Intrafamily Adoption
• A sworn statement of financial responsibility
• Your spouse's consent to the adoption

Residency: Louisiana has no minimum residency period (La. Ch.C. Art. 1180). You must be domiciled in the state, meaning Louisiana is your permanent home.

Your stepchild's wishes: Louisiana does not require the child's consent. The court asks for and considers the wishes of a child 12 or older (La. Ch.C. Art. 1253(C)).

The child's other parent: This is the part that depends most on your facts. Louisiana's abandonment period is 6 months (La. Ch.C. Art. 1245). Whether it applies to your family is a question for an attorney or the clerk, especially if the case is contested or the other parent's whereabouts are unknown. Louisiana allows personal service by sheriff, or service by publication if the parent's location is unknown after due diligence.

Home study: It is waived for Louisiana stepparent adoptions (La. Ch.C. Art. 1252(A)).

Where you file: You file in the District Court of your parish. Louisiana has 64 parishes, and the clerk in yours can tell you about local filing details.

Timeline and cost:

• Stepparent adoptions in Louisiana take about 3-6 months.
• Court filing fees run $200-$400.
• The total typical cost is under $1,000 when you handle the filing yourself, compared with $3,000-$5,000+ with an attorney.

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 parish. You then file it yourself, without an attorney. The price is $349 for the first child and $99 for each additional child. Your court-ready documents arrive within 24-48 hours after you finish the questions, and they come with our 100% court acceptance guarantee. We have helped 881 Louisiana families, and more than 34,000 families nationwide since 2001.