What happens if the adoption is contested in Alaska?

If a parent contests the adoption in Alaska, the Superior Court handles the dispute, and what happens next depends on the facts of your family, so an attorney or the Superior Court clerk in your borough should review your specific situation.

What "contested" means: A contested adoption is one where a biological parent objects to it. How the court weighs an objection, what evidence it hears and what standard the judge applies are questions for an Alaska family law attorney or the clerk, and you should confirm them before you file.

Alaska details that relate to a dispute:

• Abandonment period: Alaska Stat. § 25.23.050(a)(1)-(2) sets a period of 6 months. Whether it applies to your family depends on the contact and support the other parent has or has not provided, so an attorney can tell you how it fits your case.
• Child's consent: Alaska Stat. § 25.23.040 sets a child consent age of 10. If your stepchild is 10 or older, that consent is part of your case.
• Home study: Alaska Stat. § 25.23.100 waives the home study for a stepparent adoption. If a parent objects, the clerk can tell you whether the judge may ask for anything further.
• Residency: Alaska has no minimum residency period before you can file.

Timeline: Stepparent adoptions in Alaska take 3-6 months. How an objection affects scheduling in your borough is something the Superior Court clerk can confirm.

Steps to consider if you expect opposition:

• Talk with an Alaska family law attorney about your particular situation before you file.
• Ask whether the attorney offers limited-scope help, such as representation only at a hearing, if you want to keep costs down.
• Keep your paperwork complete and accurate, since a clean filing is the foundation of any adoption.
• Keep records of the contact, communication and support between the other parent and your child, and ask an attorney which records matter.

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 borough, which you file yourself without an attorney. The price is $349 for the first child and $99 for each additional child. Your court-ready documents arrive within 24-48 hours after you finish the questions, and they come with a 100% court acceptance guarantee. We have helped 126 Alaska families, and 34,000+ families nationally since 2001. If your case is contested, we can prepare your paperwork while an attorney advises you on the dispute itself.