Can I adopt my stepchild if they live with the other biological parent part-time in Wyoming?

It may be possible, but it depends on your family's specific facts, especially the other biological parent's role. Wyoming's data doesn't turn on a child's living arrangement alone, so a part-time schedule with the other parent is something to confirm with an attorney or the District Court clerk in your county before you file.

What Wyoming law tells us about your situation:

• Abandonment has no fixed timeline. Wyoming sets no number of months. Under Wyo. Stat. § 1-22-110, abandonment depends on the parent's overall conduct. A child who spends part of their time with the other parent is exactly the kind of fact that matters here, so don't assume either way.
• The child's voice counts at 14. Wyoming's child consent age is 14 (Wyo. Stat. § 1-22-109). If your stepchild is 14 or older, plan for their consent to be part of the process.
• Who can file. A petition may be filed by either spouse if the other spouse is the child's parent (Wyo. Stat. § 1-22-104(b)). That covers you as a stepparent married to the child's parent.

Requirements that don't change with custody:

• Residency: you must have lived in Wyoming for 60 days immediately before filing (Wyo. Stat. § 1-22-103).
• Court: the petition is filed in District Court in your county. Wyoming has 23 counties, and the clerk can tell you how your local court handles filings and what the filing fee is.
• Home study: Wyoming waives it for stepparent adoptions (Wyo. Stat. § 1-22-111(a)(ii)).
• Privacy: hearings in adoption proceedings are closed unless the court orders otherwise (Wyo. Stat. § 1-22-105).
• Timeline: stepparent adoptions in Wyoming typically take 3-6 months.

Questions to settle first:

• Does the other biological parent know about and support the adoption? Wyoming's data doesn't spell out how the court treats a parent who is actively parenting part-time, so ask an attorney or the District Court clerk what applies to your case.
• If the other