[ajkawinkelman]

Are there any step-moms out there who want to adopt their step-children? I see mostly men who want to adopt there stpe-children, but not many step-mothers. I would like to adopt my 12 year old step-daughter (with her and my husbands blessing) and her birthmom hasn't talked to her in over a year now. She would never sign the papers to do it and she doesn't pay child support (because that was how they had it arranged over 10 years ago and my husband didn't want to fight it.) We have spoken to some lawyers and they said that because she doesn't pay CS it would be a harder case to win. Has anyone here ever won a case off of pure abandoment (not seeing or contacting the child for at least one year)? Is it even possible. Please help, it is a tough road ahead I think.

[john-va]

My Wife Is Going Through The Same Situation With My Kids. We Are Just Beginning The Process In Virginia. No Contact For 6 Years, Does Not Pay Cs, And, We Have No Idea Where The Bio Is. I Thought I May Get Some Useful Info From This Site But No Luck Yet. If You Get Any Useful Replies To This I Would Be Interested In Reading Them

[InBlindFaith]

There is a mom on here who adopted her stepson. She probably hasn't seen your post yet...so you aren't alone.

What state are you in? Laws do vary from state to state. I'm in Texas, here if there as been no contact or child support for 6 months then you can try to file. We also have positive drug tests and the ex has admitted to being a drug user twice on the stand now since March. My ex is fighting it. We had a hearing yesterday and now we are waiting for the Judge to decide if we are going to have a trial or not.

[stepadoptionblog]

I adopted my stepson on the grounds of abandonment. The biological mother had stopped contacting my stepson, and she moved without notifying us or giving us a fowarding address. We had to file for the adoption through a public notice.

In our case there was also no child support order, my husband never asked for any, but that only helped our case in the end because there was no contribution on her part at all to my stepson's life.

Stepparent Adoption Blog