Can I adopt my stepchild in Missouri if I was previously married to someone else?

Yes. In Missouri, a previous marriage does not stop you from asking the Circuit Court to approve a stepchild adoption. The adoption law (RSMo § 453.010) says "any person desiring to adopt" may petition, and the statute does not tie that to your marital history. If your own prior marriage or divorce involves a court order about children, support or custody, ask the Circuit Court clerk in your county or an attorney how it applies to your case.

What the court looks at instead: The Circuit Court decides stepparent adoptions based on the welfare of the child being adopted. These are the parts of the Missouri process most families focus on:

• Residency: Missouri has no minimum residency period for filing (RSMo § 453.010).
• Child's consent: If your stepchild is 14 or older, the child's consent is part of the process (RSMo § 453.030).
• The other biological parent: The other parent's consent, or the question of abandonment, is where cases most often become more complicated. Missouri's abandonment period is 6 months (RSMo § 453.040). Termination of that parent's rights is not a separate filing in Missouri.
• Home study: Missouri waives the home study for stepparent adoptions (RSMo § 453.070).
• Background checks: Missouri requires background checks to protect the child, including a criminal background check for the stepparent.

Your former spouse and your stepchild: If your previous spouse is a parent of your own children, that does not change the stepchild adoption itself. It is a separate family matter. If the child's other biological parent was once married to your current spouse, that history matters only through the consent or abandonment questions above. If that parent is unknown, cannot be found, or objects, the details depend on your facts. Talk to the Circuit Court clerk or a family law attorney about that specific issue.