Can I adopt my stepchild who was born in another country in Kentucky?

Yes, you can begin a stepparent adoption of a foreign-born stepchild in Kentucky by filing a petition in the Circuit Court in your county. The steps below are the Kentucky steps your petition follows. A few details tied to a birth abroad are best confirmed with your Circuit Court clerk, as noted below.

Where the child was born and your paperwork: The court will want proof of the child's identity and birth. Ask the Circuit Court clerk in your county exactly what it accepts for a foreign birth record, including whether a translation is needed. The Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics can tell you what it will and will not issue after an adoption involving a child born abroad.

Immigration and citizenship: If you are hoping the adoption will affect your stepchild's immigration status or citizenship, that is a separate question from the Kentucky court process. Talk with an immigration attorney about it.

Residency: Kentucky has no waiting period for Kentucky residents (KRS § 199.470). Non-residents need 12 months in the state.

Consent:

• If your stepchild is 12 or older, the child's consent is part of the process (KRS § 199.500).
• Kentucky requires consent forms or a motion to dispense with consent, along with your spouse's consent to the adoption.
• If the other biological parent has had no contact for 90 days (three months), that can establish grounds to proceed (KRS § 199.502). Whether that fits your situation depends on your facts, especially if the other parent lives abroad or cannot be found, so confirm it with the clerk or an attorney.

Notice to the other parent: Kentucky allows personal service by a sheriff or process server. If the parent's location is unknown, service by publication is allowed after a diligent search. How service works when a parent lives in another country is a point to confirm with the clerk or an attorney.

Home study and background checks: The home study is waived in Kentucky stepparent adoptions (KRS § 199.473). Kentucky does require criminal background checks through the Kentucky State Police for adoption petitioners.

Timeline: Stepparent adoptions in Kentucky typically take 3-6 months.

Cost: Court filing fees run about $150-$300, and the total typically comes to under $1,000. Hiring an attorney for the whole process often runs $3,000-$5,000+.

Contested or unclear situations: If the other parent objects, cannot be identified, or lives somewhere hard to reach, have the Circuit Court clerk or a Kentucky attorney look at your specific facts.

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 Kentucky county. You file it yourself, without an attorney. The price is $349 for the first child and $99 for each additional child, and your court-ready documents arrive within 24-48 hours after you finish the questions. We offer a 100% court acceptance guarantee and have helped 501 Kentucky families, and 34,000+ families nationally since 2001.