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

Yes. If you are married to your stepchild's parent, you can ask a Tennessee Chancery or Circuit Court to approve your stepparent adoption. The steps below are the same ones every married stepparent follows, and none of them depends on whether your marriage is same-sex or opposite-sex.

Who can petition: Tennessee lets any person over 18 petition to adopt (Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-1-115(a)). Your spouse's consent to the adoption is part of the filing. Tennessee sets no minimum length of marriage, though courts generally like to see a stable relationship.

What you will need to know:

• Court: You file in Chancery or Circuit Court, in one of Tennessee's 95 counties, such as the county that includes Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga, or Clarksville.
• Residency: Tennessee has no minimum residency period for stepparent adoption (Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-1-115).
• Child's consent: A child who is 14 or older must consent (Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-1-117).
• Other legal parent: Your filing needs either that parent's consent or grounds such as abandonment. Tennessee's abandonment period is four months (Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-1-113). If you cannot locate that parent after a diligent search, Tennessee allows service by publication.
• Home study: It is waived for stepparent adoptions (Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-1-116).
• Paperwork: The filing includes a Petition for Adoption, a sworn statement of financial responsibility, and your spouse's consent.

Where your family's situation may need extra attention: Some families have a second legal parent on the child's birth certificate, a donor, or a court order from an earlier case. Tennessee law on how those facts affect your petition is not something we can settle in a general answer. Please confirm them with the Chancery or Circuit Court clerk in your county, or with an attorney who handles adoptions. The same goes for any contested case or any case where the other parent is unknown.

Time and cost: A stepparent adoption in Tennessee typically takes 3-6 months.