What if the biological parent lives in another state — can I still adopt in Florida?

Yes. A biological parent living in another state does not by itself stop you from adopting a stepchild in Florida. Your case is handled in the Circuit Court under Florida Statutes Chapter 63. The other parent's location mainly affects how that parent is notified and how consent is gathered.

What the other parent's location affects:

• Consent. Florida's consent rules are in Fla. Stat. § 63.062. If the other parent is willing to consent, living far away does not change that path.
• If the parent will not consent or cannot be reached. Fla. Stat. § 63.064 covers consent waiver. Whether it applies depends on the facts of your case, so ask an attorney or the Circuit Court clerk in your county about your situation.
• Abandonment. Florida sets no fixed number of months for abandonment. Under Fla. Stat. § 63.089, it depends on the parent's overall conduct.
• Notice and service out of state. The exact steps for notifying a parent in another state, and which county to file in, are best confirmed with the Circuit Court clerk in your county or an attorney.

What stays the same no matter where the parent lives:

• Putative Father Registry. Under Fla. Stat. § 63.054, the registry must be searched in each adoption proceeding. This is done through a motion asking the court to order the search.
• Home study. Under Fla. Stat. § 63.092, the home study is waived for stepparents, so no one needs to arrange a visit in the other parent's state.
• Background checks. FDLE and FBI background checks are required.
• Effect of the adoption. Under Fla. Stat. § 63.172, a stepparent adoption ends the other parent's parental rights and child support obligations at the same time. That is why the court takes notice and consent seriously, even when the parent lives far away.

Timeline and cost:

A stepparent adoption in Florida typically takes about 3 months. Court filing fees generally run $200-$500, and the total is typically under $1,000, compared with $3,000-$5,000+ for an attorney. Florida allows you to represent yourself in a stepparent adoption, though a contested case or an unknown parent is a good reason to speak with an attorney about that specific 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. Court-ready documents arrive within 24-48 hours after you finish the questions, and you file them yourself without an attorney. The price is $349 for the first child and $99 for each additional child, backed by a 100% court acceptance guarantee. We have helped 1228 Florida families, and 34,000+ families nationwide since 2001.