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

Yes, you can ask the Florida Circuit Court to approve a stepparent adoption even when a custody order is already in place. The court decides the petition, and how your particular order is handled depends on its terms and your family's facts.

What happens to the parent's rights: When a stepparent adoption is granted, Fla. Stat. § 63.172 provides that the other parent's parental rights and child support obligations end at the same time. Florida does not require a separate termination case for this. The adoption itself does that work, so the old order's terms regarding that parent will no longer reflect your family's reality once the adoption is final.

Until the adoption is final: Nothing in your case changes the existing order on its own. Keep following it, including any parenting time or support terms, until a judge signs the final judgment.

Questions to confirm locally: The Circuit Court clerk in your county (Florida has 67) can tell you whether and how to file a copy of your custody order with the petition, and what local practice is. If your order is contested or the other parent objects, speak with a Florida attorney about your specific situation.

Consent and the custody order: A custody order does not replace the consent steps in Florida's adoption law.

• The other parent's consent: Consent requirements are in Fla. Stat. § 63.062, and the rules for waiving consent are in Fla. Stat. § 63.064.
• Abandonment: Florida sets no fixed number of months. Abandonment depends on the parent's overall conduct, and Fla. Stat. § 63.089 is the statute to look at. A parent's history of contact or visitation under the order may be part of that picture, but whether it amounts to abandonment is a question for the court and, if needed, an attorney.
• Child's consent: The child's consent age is 12 under Fla. Stat. § 63.062.
• Putative Father Registry: Under Fla. Stat. § 63.054, the registry must be searched in each adoption proceeding, and the filing includes a motion asking the court to order that search.

Other Florida basics:

• Home study: Stepparents are exempt under Fla. Stat. § 63.092.
• Background checks: FDLE and FBI checks are required.
• Timeline: The typical stepparent adoption timeline is about 3 months.
• Court costs: Filing fees generally run $200-$500, and the typical total is under $1,000, compared with $3,000-