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

Yes, you can ask the Vermont Probate Court to let you adopt both stepchildren even though only one father consents, but what happens for the child whose father does not consent depends on the facts of that father's situation.

What a consenting father means for one child: Where a father agrees to the adoption, his written consent is part of that child's paperwork, and that child's side of the case is usually more straightforward. Your other stepchild's adoption does not change that.

What a non-consenting father means for the other child: Vermont's abandonment provision, 15A V.S.A. § 3-504, uses a period of 6 months. Whether the father's absence or lack of contact meets that standard is a question the court decides based on your specific facts. If he is actively objecting rather than absent, or if you are unsure where he is, talk with the Probate Court clerk in your county or an attorney about that specific issue before you file.

Filing together or separately: Vermont's data does not tell us whether the court prefers one combined filing or a separate petition for each child, or whether a dispute over one child can affect the timing of the other. The Probate Court clerk in your county can confirm how the court handles that.

Other Vermont requirements that apply to both children:

• Residency: Under 15A V.S.A. § 3-101(a)(1)-(2), the residency requirement is 6 months.
• Child's consent: Vermont sets the child consent age at 14 under 15A V.S.A. § 2-401. If either stepchild is 14 or older, plan for that child's own consent.
• Home study: For stepparent adoptions in Vermont, the home study is waived under 15A V.S.A. § 4-110(a), so you generally will not need to schedule one.
• Court: Both adoptions go through the Probate Court in your county. Vermont has 14 counties.

Timeline: Stepparent adoptions in Vermont typically take 3-6 months. A case where one father does not consent may take a different amount of time depending on the facts, and the clerk or an attorney can tell you more once you know his situation.

Questions to settle before you file:

• Whether each father is known and can be located
• When each father last had contact with or supported his child
• Whether either child is 14 or older
• How long you have lived in Vermont

How we help: StepParent Adoption 360 is a document preparation service, not a law firm. You answer questions online about each child and each father, 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 and $99 for each additional child, and your court-ready documents arrive within 24-48 hours after you finish the questions. We back the work with a 100% court acceptance guarantee, and we have helped 87 Vermont families, part of 34,000+ families helped nationally since 2001.