What if the biological parent lives in Colorado but I live in another state?

Where you file depends on where you and the child live, not on where the biological parent lives, and Colorado sets no minimum residency period. If you live in another state, ask the District Court clerk in the Colorado county involved, or an attorney, whether a Colorado court can hear your case. The data we rely on does not settle that out-of-state question, so it is worth confirming before you file anything.

What Colorado law does say about residency:

• Colorado has no minimum residency period for a stepparent adoption (C.R.S. §§ 19-5-201, 19-5-204).
• Adoption cases are heard in the District Court. Colorado has 64 counties, and each county's clerk can tell you how filing works locally.
• The Colorado statutes on adoption petitions are in Colorado Revised Statutes Title 19, Article 5.

What stays the same if the case is in Colorado:

• Consent: A child who is 12 or older must consent to their own adoption (C.R.S. § 19-5-203).
• Time without contact: Colorado uses a 12-month abandonment period in deciding whether a biological parent's consent is needed (C.R.S. § 19-5-203(1)(d)(II)). Whether your facts meet it is a question for the court, and an attorney can advise you on your specific situation.
• Home study: A home study is waived for stepparent adoptions (C.R.S. § 19-5-209(1)).
• Timeline: A stepparent adoption typically takes 3-6 months.
• Filing fee: Court filing fees typically run $200-$500, depending on the county. The clerk can give you the exact amount.
• Name change: The child's name can be changed as part of the adoption at no additional cost.

Questions that depend on your facts:

• Which state's court is right: This depends on where you and the child actually live. The Colorado data does not say how Colorado treats a petitioner who lives in another state, so the District Court clerk or an attorney should confirm it.
• Notifying the biological parent in Colorado: How the parent is notified, whether they sign a consent, and what happens if you don't know where they are all depend on your circumstances. This is especially true if the parent objects or cannot be found, so check these points with the clerk or an attorney.
• Rules in your own state: If your state's court is the right place to file, its requirements apply there. Check them with that court's clerk.

Practical tips:

• Gather the child's birth information and the biological parent's last known address before you call the clerk.
• Ask the clerk which forms the court expects and whether the county has any local filing requirements.
• Write down the date of the biological parent's last contact with the child, since