What if the other parent won't sign consent in Connecticut?

If the other parent won't sign consent in Connecticut, your adoption may still be able to move forward, because the Probate Court can consider whether that parent has abandoned the child under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-717. Whether it applies depends on your family's facts.

How abandonment works in Connecticut. Connecticut sets no fixed number of months for abandonment. The court looks at the parent's overall conduct instead of counting time on a calendar. A parent's refusal to sign is not the question. The question is what the parent's behavior toward the child has actually looked like. Because there is no bright-line rule, the outcome in your case depends on your history, and the Probate Court clerk in your county can tell you how the court handles these requests.

Termination is not a separate case. Connecticut does not treat termination of parental rights as its own separate proceeding in a stepparent adoption. Your request is presented within the adoption filing in the Probate Court.

If the other parent is actively involved or objects. When a parent is part of the child's life and says no, your situation is more complicated. The data we rely on does not spell out how the court treats a parent who is involved and objecting, so please confirm that point with the Probate Court clerk or a Connecticut family law attorney. An attorney is the right person to advise on a contested situation like this.

Other Connecticut details that matter here:

• Child's consent: If your child is 12 or older, the child's own consent comes into play under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-724.
• Residency: Connecticut has no minimum residency period under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-727.
• Home study: It is waived under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-733(a), so you are not waiting on one.
• Timeline: Stepparent adoptions in Connecticut typically take 3-6 months.

If the person being adopted is an adult. The rules are different. Under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-734, an adult adoption is done by written agreement between the adopter and the adoptee, and the statute does not list a requirement of consent from the biological parents. One parent of the adult child may join the agreement between their spouse and the adult child. The non-joining parent's legal relationship ends, though the adoptee keeps inheritance rights from a parent who died before the adoption. The Probate Court approves the agreement after a hearing, if it finds the two share a relationship similar to that of a parent and an adult child and that the adoption is in their best interests. Adult adoptions in Connecticut typically take 4-8 weeks.

What to do next. Write down what you know about the other parent's involvement with your child, such as contact, communication and support. Then call the Probate Court clerk in your county to ask how the court handles a parent who won't consent. If the parent is involved and objecting, 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. You file it yourself without an attorney, and we have helped 158 Connecticut families. The cost is $349 for the first child (or one adult adoptee) and $99 for each additional child. You receive court-ready documents within 24-48 hours after you finish the questions, backed by our 100% court acceptance guarantee.