What if the biological father refuses to consent to adoption in Wyoming?

A father's refusal is not automatically the end of a stepparent adoption in Wyoming, but what happens next depends on the facts of your situation. Wyoming law addresses abandonment in Wyo. Stat. § 1-22-110. It sets no fixed number of months. Instead, abandonment depends on the parent's overall conduct toward the child.

What the court looks at. Because there is no countdown, you can't simply add up months of silence. Whether a father's conduct amounts to abandonment is a question about the whole picture of his involvement. If he is refusing consent, how the court will treat that in your case is something to confirm with an attorney or the District Court clerk in your county.

Facts worth gathering. Whatever your situation, it helps to have a clear, honest record of the father's involvement. You might write down:

• When he last saw the child
• When he last called, wrote or otherwise communicated
• Whether he has helped support the child, financially or otherwise
• Any efforts you or the child made to keep him involved

Where your case is filed. Adoption petitions are filed in the District Court. Wyoming has 23 counties, and the clerk in your county can tell you about local filing steps and the current filing fee.

Other requirements that still apply:

• Residency: Wyo. Stat. § 1-22-103 requires 60 days immediately before filing.
• Child's consent: Wyoming sets a consent age of 14 (Wyo. Stat. § 1-22-109). If your child is 14 or older, plan for that.
• Home study: Wyo. Stat. § 1-22-111(a)(ii) provides for it to be waived in stepparent adoptions, which can keep the process simpler.

Timeline. Stepparent adoptions in Wyoming typically take 3-6 months. A contested situation, where the father actively objects, can change what is involved. A hearing may be needed. For a case like that, please speak with a Wyoming family law attorney about your specific circumstances.

When to get legal advice. Consider an attorney if the father is actively involved, if he has said he will fight the adoption, or if you aren't sure whether his conduct fits Wyo. Stat. § 1-22-110. An attorney can tell you how the law applies to your facts. We can't do that for you, and neither can general information.

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. Court-ready documents arrive within 24-48 hours after you finish the questions. The price is $349 for the first child and $99 for each additional child, and we back it with a 100% court acceptance guarantee. We have helped 191 Wyoming families, and more than 34,000 families nationally since 2001.