Can I adopt my stepchild if there is an existing custody order in Alaska?

Yes, you can ask the Alaska Superior Court to approve a stepparent adoption even though a custody order is already in place, but how that order is handled depends on your family's facts. The rules below apply to you either way, and the Superior Court clerk can confirm details for your case.

What the custody order means for your filing:

• The existing order is part of your child's history, so keep a copy handy. We will ask about it when you answer our questions, so your documents reflect your actual situation.
• What happens to custody, visitation or child support terms once an adoption is final is not something we can promise in general. Ask the Superior Court clerk in your county or an attorney how it applies to your order.
• If the other biological parent is actively contesting the adoption, or you don't know where that parent is, talk with an attorney about that specific issue.

Alaska rules that matter when there is a custody order:

• Court: Your adoption petition is filed in the Superior Court.
• Residency: Alaska has no minimum residency period before you can file.
• Child's consent: The age for a child's consent is 10 (Alaska Stat. § 25.23.040). If your stepchild has reached that age, their consent is part of the process.
• Abandonment: Alaska's abandonment provision uses a six-month period (Alaska Stat. § 25.23.050(a)(1)-(2)). If your custody order gives the other parent visitation, your family's contact history may be relevant. Whether it meets the statute is a question for the clerk or an attorney, since it turns on the facts.
• Home study: Alaska waives the home study for stepparent adoptions (Alaska Stat. § 25.23.100).

Timeline: Stepparent adoptions in Alaska typically take 3-6 months. Contested situations or questions about the existing order may affect how long yours takes. Filing fees are set by the court, so the Superior Court clerk can give you the current amount.

A note on visitation: If the order gives the other parent visitation, follow the order as written until the court tells you otherwise. A change in the order should come from the court, not from an informal agreement.

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