What are the grounds for involuntary termination of parental rights in Vermont?

In Vermont, the ground that most directly applies to a stepparent adoption is abandonment, and the abandonment period is 6 months (15A V.S.A. § 3-504). Whether any other ground applies to your family depends on the facts. For that, the Probate Court clerk in your county or an attorney can give you a reliable answer.

Abandonment. The 6-month period in 15A V.S.A. § 3-504 is the Vermont figure to know if the other parent has been absent from your child's life. How the court looks at the details of a particular case, such as what counts as contact or what happens if the parent objects, turns on your facts. Ask the clerk or an attorney about those details.

Other grounds. You may be wondering about situations involving support, safety, incarceration, health or substance use. We don't give a rule for those here, because how Vermont treats them depends on the specific facts and should be confirmed with the Probate Court clerk or an attorney. If your situation involves any of them, or if the other parent's whereabouts are unknown, getting that specific advice early is worthwhile.

Termination and the adoption case. In Vermont, termination is not a separate court case for stepparent adoption. It is handled within the adoption proceeding, so you are working with one filing in the Probate Court rather than two.

Other pieces that connect to termination:

• Court: Your petition goes to the Probate Court in your county. Vermont has 14 counties.
• Child's consent: If your child is 14 or older, the child's consent is part of the process (15A V.S.A. § 2-401).
• Residency: Vermont's residency requirement is 6 months (15A V.S.A. § 3-101(a)(1)-(2)).
• Home study: It is waived for stepparent adoptions in Vermont (15A V.S.A. § 4-110(a)).
• Timeline: Stepparent adoptions in Vermont typically take 3-6 months.

What to do first. Write down the timeline of the other parent's contact with your child: the last time they visited, called, or contributed, and anything that shows how you tried to keep them involved. Having this ready makes it easier to talk with the clerk or an attorney about your specific grounds. If the other parent is likely to contest the adoption, an attorney can advise you on that issue.

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. The price is $349 for the first child, plus $99 for each additional child. 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 87 Vermont families, and 34,000+ families nationally since 2001.