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

Yes, if you are legally married to your stepchild's parent and live in Wisconsin, you can petition the Circuit Court to adopt your stepchild. Wisconsin's adoption statute, Wis. Stat. § 48.82(1), lets a Wisconsin resident adopt as either spouse when the other spouse is the minor's parent. The stepparent adoption process is the same one other married stepparents use. If a detail of your family's situation is unclear, the Circuit Court clerk in your county or an attorney can confirm it.

Who can file: You need to be a Wisconsin resident and the spouse of the child's parent. Wisconsin sets no minimum length of residency, so you do not have to wait out a set number of months before filing (Wis. Stat. § 48.82).

Where you file: Your petition goes to the Circuit Court in your Wisconsin county. There are 72 counties, and the clerk can tell you about local filing steps and the current filing fee.

The child's role: Wisconsin does not require the child's consent. A child 14 or older attends the hearing unless the court orders otherwise.

The other parent: This is the part that depends most on your facts.

• If the child's other legal parent is involved, how that parent's rights are handled depends on the circumstances.
• If that parent has been absent, Wisconsin law includes an abandonment ground with a 6-month period (Wis. Stat. § 48.415).
• Whether it applies to your family is a fact-specific question. If the other parent is unknown, unreachable, or likely to object, talk to the court clerk or an attorney about that issue.

Home study: For stepparent adoptions, the home study is waived in Wisconsin (Wis. Stat. § 48.88).

Timeline: Stepparent adoptions in Wisconsin typically take about 3-6 months.