Can I adopt my stepchild if the biological parent is a registered sex offender in Wyoming?

Possibly, but Wyoming's adoption statutes as we have them do not say that a parent's sex offender registration, by itself, decides a stepparent adoption either way. What the court decides will depend on the facts of your family, so the exact effect of the registration is worth confirming with the District Court clerk in your county or an attorney.

What the registration does and doesn't settle

• A stepparent adoption in Wyoming is filed as a petition in District Court. The statutes don't give registry status its own rule, so how the court treats it in your case should be confirmed with the clerk or an attorney.
• Whether the other parent will agree, object, or can't be found changes how a case unfolds. If your situation is contested, speak with an attorney about that specific issue.

Abandonment may be relevant

Wyoming's abandonment provision is Wyo. Stat. § 1-22-110. It sets no fixed number of months. Abandonment depends on the parent's overall conduct. If the biological parent has been out of your child's life, the facts of that history matter more than any set time period. Whether and how a registry listing figures into that picture is a question for the clerk or an attorney.

Wyoming requirements that apply to your case

• Residency: The adopting stepparent must have lived in Wyoming for 60 days immediately before filing (Wyo. Stat. § 1-22-103).
• Child's consent: A child who is 14 or older has a consent role under Wyo. Stat. § 1-22-109.
• Home study: Wyoming waives the home study investigation in stepparent adoptions (Wyo. Stat. § 1-22-111(a)(ii)).
• Court: Your petition goes to the District Court in your county. Wyoming has 23 counties, including those around Cheyenne, Casper, Laramie, Gillette and Rock Springs.
• Timeline: Stepparent adoptions in Wyoming typically take 3-6 months. A contested case or one with an unlocated parent can look different.
• Filing fee: The clerk in your county can tell you the current court filing fee.

Questions to ask the clerk or an attorney

• How does the court handle notice to a biological parent in your situation?
• Does the other parent's registration status affect what the court will ask for?
• If the other parent objects, what happens next?

The records you gather will help, whatever the answers. Keep copies of any court orders about custody or visitation, any no-contact orders, and a record of how much contact, support and involvement the biological parent has had.

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, ready within 24-48 hours after you finish the questions. You file it yourself without an attorney. The price is $349 for the first child and $99 for each additional child, and we back our work with a 100% court acceptance guarantee. We have helped 191 Wyoming families, and more than 34,000 families nationally since 2001.