Can I adopt my stepchild if I'm in the military stationed in South Dakota?

Yes, you can ask a South Dakota Circuit Court to approve a stepparent adoption while you are stationed here, and South Dakota has no minimum residency period. Because there is no waiting period to meet, your time in the state is not a hurdle for getting started.

Where it is filed: Stepparent adoptions are handled by the Circuit Court. South Dakota has 66 counties, so your paperwork should match the county where you file. The Circuit Court clerk in that county can confirm the filing fee, which county is correct for your situation, and any local procedures. South Dakota's adoption rules are found in South Dakota Codified Laws Chapter 25-6.

Military-specific questions: The South Dakota law we work from has no special rules for service members, so questions about deployment, orders or moving to a new duty station are best confirmed with the Circuit Court clerk or an attorney. A military legal assistance office may also be able to point you in the right direction.

What the process involves:

• Child's consent: A child who is 12 or older is asked to consent (SDCL § 25-6-5).
• The other biological parent: Their consent, or a legal basis for the adoption to proceed without it, is a key part of the case. South Dakota's abandonment period is 6 months (SDCL § 25-6-4(2)). Whether that fits your family depends on the facts. If the other parent is contested, cannot be found, or is uninvolved because of a deployment or other circumstance, talk to an attorney or the court clerk about your specific situation.
• Home study: South Dakota waives the home study for stepparent adoptions (SDCL § 25-6-10), which removes one step that can slow families down.
• Timeline: Stepparent adoptions in South Dakota typically take 3-6 months.

After the adoption: Once the court enters the adoption order, South Dakota Vital Records is the agency to contact about the child's birth record. Frequent moves are a good reason to have your legal parentage settled. A court order gives you a document that goes wherever you do.

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 cost is $349 for the first child and $99 for each additional child. Court-ready documents are delivered within 24-48 hours after you finish the questions, and we back them with a 100% court acceptance guarantee. We have helped 187 South Dakota families, and more than 34,000 families nationally since 2001.