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

You may be able to pursue a stepparent adoption in Wyoming even when child support is behind, but how the arrears affect your particular case should be confirmed with the District Court clerk in your county or an attorney. Wyoming's adoption petition is filed in District Court, and arrears are a separate money question that needs a clear answer for your situation.

What to confirm locally: Whether past-due support can still be collected after an adoption, what happens to the ongoing support obligation, and whether to pursue arrears before or after you file all depend on your court order and your facts. Talk to the clerk or an attorney about those points, and discuss with your spouse whether collecting arrears matters more to your family than moving forward with the adoption.

Where abandonment fits: Wyoming sets no fixed number of months for abandonment. It depends on the parent's overall conduct (Wyo. Stat. § 1-22-110). So the question is about the whole picture of the parent's involvement with the child, not a single factor such as a payment record. If the other parent's consent is not coming, an attorney can tell you how abandonment may apply to your facts.

Other Wyoming requirements that apply to any stepparent adoption:

• Residency: The adopting adult must have lived in Wyoming for 60 days immediately before filing (Wyo. Stat. § 1-22-103).
• Child's consent: The consent age is 14 (Wyo. Stat. § 1-22-109).
• Home study: A home study is waived for stepparent adoptions (Wyo. Stat. § 1-22-111(a)(ii)).
• Court: The petition is filed in the District Court. Wyoming has 23 counties, and the clerk in your county can tell you about local filing steps and the current filing fee.
• Timeline: Stepparent adoptions in Wyoming typically take 3-6 months.

Practical steps:

• Gather your child support order and any payment records, so you can show them to an attorney or the clerk if questions come up.
• Decide with your spouse how you want to handle the arrears, ideally after getting advice on your specific order.
• Ask the District Court clerk what documents your county expects with a stepparent petition.
• If the other parent may object, or if you don't know where that parent is, speak with an attorney about that specific issue before you file.

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 price 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 191 Wyoming families and more than 34,000 families nationally since 2001.