How does termination of parental rights work in Delaware?

In Delaware, termination of parental rights is handled as its own separate step from the stepparent adoption, so you should expect to deal with the termination and the adoption as distinct parts of the process in Family Court.

How it works: Delaware treats termination as a separate matter rather than folding it into the adoption petition. The other parent's legal rights are addressed first, and the adoption is then presented to the court. The adoption is decided by the Family Court in your county. Delaware has 3 counties, and the Family Court clerk where you live can tell you how filings are handled locally.

Abandonment: Delaware's abandonment period is 6 months (13 Del. C. § 1103). If the other parent has had no meaningful involvement with your child for that long, abandonment may be relevant to your case. Whether your facts meet the legal standard is a question for the court. The clerk or an attorney can help you with that for your situation.

Other pieces that connect to termination:

• Child's consent: Delaware sets the child consent age at 14 (13 Del. C. § 907(b)). If your child is 14 or older, plan for that in your adoption.
• Home study: Delaware does not waive the home study for stepparent adoptions (13 Del. C. § 912), so expect it to be part of the process.
• Timeline: Stepparent adoptions in Delaware generally run 4-6 months overall. Your timing will depend on the court's schedule and on whether the other parent agrees or contests.

Where the facts matter: Some situations call for individual guidance. These include a parent who contests the termination, a parent who cannot be located, and a parent whose identity is unknown. The Family Court clerk in your county can explain the procedure and the current filing fees. An attorney can advise you on the legal question in your specific case. Court staff cannot give legal advice, but they can tell you what forms and steps apply.

What to gather: It helps to have these ready before you start:

• Your child's full legal name and birth date
• The other parent's last known address, if you have it
• A simple timeline of the other parent's contact and support
• Your marriage information as the stepparent

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. Court-ready documents arrive within 24-48 hours after you finish the questions. The price is $349 for the first child, plus $99 for each additional child, and every package comes with our 100% court acceptance guarantee. We have helped 89 Delaware families, and 34,000+ families nationally since 2001.