Can I adopt my stepchild if there are unpaid child support arrears in Vermont?

You can ask the Probate Court to approve a stepparent adoption in Vermont while child support is owed, but how the arrears are treated before or after the adoption should be confirmed with the Probate Court clerk in your county or with an attorney.

Unpaid support and the arrears themselves: Whether past-due amounts can still be collected after an adoption, and whether to pursue them before you file, depends on your family's facts and your support order. If the amount is large, a Vermont attorney can walk you through your options. The clerk can tell you whether the order changes anything in your county's process.

If the other parent may not consent: Vermont's abandonment provision, 15A V.S.A. § 3-504, uses a period of 6 months. Whether your situation fits it depends on the facts. A contested case is worth discussing with an attorney or the clerk.

The Vermont steps that apply to your family:

• Court: You file in the Probate Court. Vermont has 14 counties, and your documents are prepared for yours.
• Residency: The residency requirement is 6 months under 15A V.S.A. § 3-101(a)(1)-(2).
• Your stepchild's consent: The consent age is 14 under 15A V.S.A. § 2-401.
• Home study: It is waived for stepparent adoptions under 15A V.S.A. § 4-110(a).
• Timeline: Stepparent adoptions in Vermont are generally in the range of 3-6 months.
• Birth records: The Vermont Department of Health Vital Records is the agency that handles vital records for your family.

Questions to bring to the clerk or an attorney:

• Does the existing child support order or the amount owed change anything in my county's process?
• Should I try to collect arrears before filing, or wait until after the adoption?
• If the other parent objects, how will the court handle consent in my situation?
• What is the current filing fee? The clerk can give you the exact amount.

Since the arrears question affects your family's finances, it helps to talk it through with your spouse and decide together how you want to approach it.

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 file it yourself, without an attorney. The price is $349 for the first child and $99 for each additional child. You receive court-ready documents within 24-48 hours after you finish the questions, backed by our 100% court acceptance guarantee. We have helped 87 Vermont families with this process.