One of my stepchildren's father consents but the other's doesn't — can I still adopt both in Connecticut?

You may be able to, but in Connecticut it depends on how the Probate Court handles the father who does not consent. One father's agreement helps with one child. It does not settle the other child's situation, so plan to look at each child's other legal parent separately.

Child with the consenting father: His written consent is a key part of that child's paperwork. Connecticut has no minimum residency period before you can file (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-727). If this child is 12 or older, the child's own consent also comes into play (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-724).

Child with the non-consenting father: This is where the outcome turns on facts. Connecticut sets no fixed number of months for abandonment. Under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-717, abandonment depends on the parent's overall conduct. That can include contact, support and involvement in the child's life. So there is no simple "absent for X months" test you can count on. The Probate Court looks at the whole picture.

• If he stays uninvolved and does not respond: The court will look at his conduct as a whole.
• If he actively objects: The case is contested, and the outcome depends on the evidence. Talk with a Connecticut family attorney about your specific facts.
• If you don't know where he is: How the court expects you to notify him is something the Probate Court clerk in your county can confirm.

Filing for both children: Whether the court wants one petition or a separate one for each child, and whether the two cases move on the same schedule, is a procedural question for the Probate Court clerk in your family's county. Stepparent adoptions in Connecticut commonly take about 3-6 months. A contested or hard-to-serve father can change that.

Home study: For a stepparent adoption, Connecticut waives the home study (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-733(a)). That removes one step for both children.

What to do now:

• Gather what shows the non-consenting father's history with the child: contact, support and any communication.
• Get the consenting father's signed consent ready.
• Call the Probate Court clerk to ask how they handle two children with different fathers.
• See an attorney if the second father objects or has recently been involved.

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 file it yourself, without an attorney. Court-ready documents arrive within 24-48 hours after you finish the questions, and we back them with a 100% court acceptance guarantee. The price is $349 for the first child and $99 for each additional child. We have helped 158 Connecticut families, and more than 34,000 families nationally since 2001.