What are Maine's adoption laws?

Maine's adoption laws are in Maine Revised Statutes Title 18-C, Article 9, and stepparent adoptions are handled by the Probate Court in your county. Here are the key points for a stepparent adoption.

Court: Maine has 16 counties, and each has its own Probate Court. You file in the Probate Court for your county, and the clerk there can tell you about local forms, filing steps and the current filing fee.

Residency: Maine sets no minimum residency period before you can file (18-C M.R.S. § 9-301).

Child's consent: A child who is 12 or older must consent to the adoption (18-C M.R.S. § 9-302). If your child is younger than 12, this requirement does not apply.

Abandonment: The abandonment period is 6 months (18-C M.R.S. § 9-204; 22 M.R.S. § 4002(1-A)). It matters if the other legal parent has not been involved in the child's life. Whether your situation meets the definition depends on your facts, so ask the Probate Court clerk or an attorney about your case.

Home study: For stepparent adoptions, the home study is waived (18-C M.R.S. § 9-304). You will not need a social worker to evaluate your home as part of the process.

Termination of the other parent's rights: In Maine, this is not a separate court case. It is addressed within the adoption proceeding.

Timeline: A stepparent adoption of a minor child typically takes about 3-6 months. An adult adoption (the adoptee is 18 or older) typically takes about 4-8 weeks.

After the adoption: Once the adoption is final, the Maine Office of Vital Records is the agency to contact about the child's birth record.

When to get individual guidance: Some situations depend on the specific facts, and the clerk or an attorney should confirm them for you:

• The other parent objects or cannot be found.
• You are unsure whether the abandonment period applies.
• You have questions about who must be notified or give consent beyond the child's own consent.
• You need the exact filing fee or local procedures in your county.

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 (or for one adult adoptee) and $99 for each additional child. Your court-ready documents are delivered within 24-48 hours after you finish the questions, and we back them with a 100% court acceptance guarantee. We have helped 151 Maine families, and more than 34,000 families nationally since 2001.