How do I adopt my stepson or stepdaughter in Hawaii?

In Hawaii, you adopt your stepchild by filing a stepparent adoption petition in the Family Court in your county, with the paperwork completed and any required consents and reviews in place, and it typically takes about 3-6 months. Hawaii has four counties, and the law that governs adoption is Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 578.

Where you file. Adoptions are handled by the Family Court. Whether you live in Honolulu, Hilo, Kailua, Kapolei, Pearl City or elsewhere in the state, your court clerk can tell you local filing procedures and the current filing fee, which this page does not list.

Residency. Hawaii has no minimum residency period before you can file (HRS § 578-1).

Consent. Hawaii sets a child consent age of 10 (HRS § 578-2), so an older child's own consent is part of the picture. Whether the other legal parent must consent, or whether that parent's rights must first be ended, depends on your family's facts. Ask the Family Court clerk or an attorney about that point for your situation.

Abandonment. If the other parent has been absent, Hawaii's abandonment period is 12 months (HRS § 578-2). Whether your situation meets that standard is a fact-specific question. If the other parent is unknown, cannot be found, or objects, talk with an attorney before you file.

Home study. Hawaii does not waive the home study in stepparent adoptions (HRS § 578-8). Plan for it as part of the process, and ask the clerk how it is arranged in your county.

Timeline. A stepparent adoption in Hawaii typically takes 3-6 months. The exact pace depends on your county's court calendar, how quickly consents are gathered, and the home study.

What the process looks like:

• Gather basic information about you, your spouse, your stepchild and the other parent.
• Complete the petition and the supporting forms required by your county's Family Court.
• Arrange consents and notices as your facts require.
• Complete the home study.
• File with the Family Court and attend the court's review of your case.

After the adoption. For questions about your child's birth certificate and vital records, the agency to contact is the Hawaii State Department of Health Office of Health Status Monitoring.

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 county. You then file it yourself without an attorney. The price is $349 for the first child, plus $99 for each additional child. Court-ready documents arrive within 24-48 hours after you finish the questions, and our 100% court acceptance guarantee applies. We have helped 266 Hawaii families, and more than 34,000 families nationwide since 2001.