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Originally Posted By Sylvia Davis

I recently got remarried and my husband would like to adopt my son. My son and I have been residents of Arizona for only a little over 9 months. We moved here from Maine and my son's birthfather still lives there.

Will the stepparent adoption need to be started in Maine or here in Arizona?

What is the best way for us to approach the birthfather about signing off on his parental rights. He hasn't had any contact with our son in well over 2 years, and has not paid any support for longer than that.

Where do we start?

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Originally Posted By Dale Gwilliam

First of all, you need to start by reading through the post that I made on this board on June 7, 2000.

After you have that background, you then need to understand that your adoption must be processed in the state and county in which you live, or in which the child lives, which will be the same in your case, and will be in Arizona.

In order to get your case to be "uncontested" as described in the June 7th post, you will need to get the biological father to sign a Consent to Adoption, or you will have to go through the trouble and expense of a lawsuit to terminate his parental rights. That will need to be done with the assistance of a private attorney. So as you can see, it would be in you best financial interest to get the biological father to sign a Consent to Adoption in exchange for the stopping of his on-going child support obligation to the child. If approached the right way, most truly "absent" biological fathers will jump at this opportunity.

If you can't get the biological father to sign the Consent to Adoption, there may be some technical problems with the filing of the action to terminate the parental rights of the biological father in Arizona. Because you have not lived in Arizona for a year yet, there could be a jurisdictional dispute over the child, especially if you left Main in a way that was in violation of any domestic relations or child custody or child visitation order, or if it was done over the objection of the biological father of the child. If this doesn’t apply to your case, then you don’t need to worry about this potential problem. If it does apply to your case, then it is a bit more complicated than what can be completely discussed here.

It is also wise for you to do whatever you can to bury the hatchet with the biological father, so that personal animosity does not get in the way of you both doing what is in the best interests of the child. In this situation, what is good for the biological father is good for you and your child. So be a peacemaker.

You have the tools to now go and do the right thing.

Good Luck.

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Originally Posted By BK Douglas

How do I adopt my step-daughter if I am not a resident of Arizona? I am an Illinios resident, in the Army, and am living Arizona. I have no desire to change my state residence.