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

Yes. If you are legally married to your stepchild's parent, you can ask the Mississippi Chancery Court in your county to approve a stepparent adoption. The steps below are written around marriage, residency and consent, and they are the same steps every stepparent family follows. If you have a question about how the court handles your particular situation, the Chancery Court clerk in your county or a Mississippi attorney can confirm it.

What the process involves in Mississippi:

• Court: You file a petition for adoption in Chancery Court. Mississippi has 82 counties, and you file in the one that applies to your family.
• Your age: Adopting parents must be at least 21 or at least 10 years older than the child.
• Residency: Mississippi's residency period is 6 months (Miss. Code § 93-17-3).
• Your spouse: Your spouse's consent to the adoption is part of the filing.
• The child's consent: A child who is 14 or older must consent (Miss. Code § 93-17-5).
• The other legal parent: You need that parent's signed consent, or you file a motion asking the court to waive consent. Mississippi's abandonment period is 12 months (Miss. Code § 93-15-103). A separate termination case is not required.
• Notifying the other parent: If consent is not given, the other parent can be served personally by a sheriff or process server. If their location is unknown, service by publication is allowed.
• Home study: It is waived for stepparent adoptions (Miss. Code § 93-17-11).

Contested or unclear situations: If the other parent objects, can't be found, or you aren't sure whether a waiver of consent fits your facts, that depends on your circumstances. Please talk with the Chancery Court clerk or an attorney about that specific issue.

Timeline and cost: A Mississippi stepparent adoption typically takes 3-6 months. Court filing fees generally run $150-$300, and the total typically comes to under $1,000 when you prepare the paperwork yourself. Attorney-handled adoptions commonly cost $3,000-$5,000+.