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

Yes. If you are legally married to your stepchild's parent, you can ask the Probate Court in your Ohio county to approve a stepparent adoption. Ohio's stepparent adoption process is set out in Ohio Revised Code Chapter 3107. Ohio has 88 counties, and your petition goes to the Probate Court in the one that applies to your family.

What the process looks like in Ohio:

• Court: The petition is filed in the Probate Court. The clerk in your county can tell you about local filing details.
• Residency: Ohio has no minimum residency period (ORC § 3107.04), so a recent move to Ohio does not hold you back.
• Your stepchild's consent: If your stepchild is 12 or older, the child's consent is part of the process (ORC § 3107.06).
• The other parent: Their consent, or abandonment, is part of the picture. Ohio's abandonment provision (ORC § 3107.07) refers to a 12-month period. If the other parent is unknown, cannot be found, or may object, the result depends on your specific facts. Please ask the Probate Court clerk or an attorney about that issue.
• Home study: Ohio does not waive the home study (ORC § 3107.031), so plan for it.
• Court appearance: Ohio requires a brief court appearance to finalize a stepparent adoption.
• Timeline: Stepparent adoptions in Ohio typically take about 3-6 months.
• Court costs: Filing fees generally run $200-$500.

Questions that are specific to your family: Every family's situation is a little different. For example, your stepchild may have another legal parent whose rights need to be addressed, or the other parent may not be involved at all. If you want to know whether anything in your circumstances raises additional questions as a same-sex married couple, the Probate Court clerk in your county or an attorney can answer that for your situation. The same goes for how your child's birth record will be updated after the adoption. The Ohio Department of Health Office of Vital Statistics is the agency that handles birth records, and it can tell you how to request an updated record once the adoption is final.

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. You then file it yourself without an attorney. The price is $349 for the first child, plus $99 for each additional child. Your court-ready documents are delivered within 24-48 hours after you finish the questions, and they come with our 100% court acceptance guarantee. We have helped 592 Ohio families, and more than 34,000 families nationwide since 2001.