We divorced and remarried — can my spouse adopt my child now in Indiana?

Yes, in Indiana a stepparent can ask the Circuit or Superior Court to adopt your child after you remarry, and Indiana does not set a minimum length of marriage. Stepparent adoptions are handled under Indiana Code Title 31, Article 19, and the petition is filed in the court in your county.

Your divorce and remarriage. Indiana law as we have it does not say how an earlier divorce affects a stepparent adoption. That includes the case where you and your spouse divorced each other and then remarried. Indiana doesn't specify a minimum marriage duration, but courts want to see a stable relationship, and successful adoptions usually come after at least about 3 months of marriage. To learn how your particular marriage history will be viewed, ask the Circuit or Superior Court clerk in your county or an attorney.

What Indiana requires:

• Residency: Indiana has no minimum residency period (Ind. Code § 31-19-2-2).
• Child's consent: The child consent age is 14, so a child who is 14 or older is asked to consent (Ind. Code § 31-19-9-1).
• Home study: It is waived for stepparent adoptions (Ind. Code § 31-19-8-5).
• Final hearing: Indiana requires one, but these are typically brief, positive proceedings where the judge celebrates your family.

The child's other parent. This is often the biggest question. If the other parent has failed to maintain meaningful contact or support, Indiana courts can proceed without their consent. The abandonment period is 6 months (Ind. Code § 31-19-9-8). If you don't know where the other parent is, Indiana has procedures for notice by publication after reasonable efforts to find them. Whether your situation fits any of this depends on your facts, so for a contested case or an unknown parent, talk with the court clerk or an attorney about your specific circumstances.

Back child support. If the other parent owes back child support, that doesn't prevent adoption in Indiana. However, the adoption may not eliminate existing support obligations, so ask the court about your situation.

Timeline and cost. A stepparent adoption in Indiana typically takes 3-6 months. Court filing fees generally run $200-$500, and the total typical cost is under $1,000, compared with $3,000-$5,000+ when hiring an attorney.

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 and $99 for each additional child, with court-ready documents delivered within 24-48 hours after you finish the questions. We back every package with a 100% court acceptance guarantee, and we have helped 1207 Indiana families, part of 34,000+ families helped since 2001.