Stepparent Adoption in Washington State

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buescher

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My wife and I have been married for a year and I would like to adopt her seven year old daughter. We have been together for four years and four months and her ex-husband has not really been involved. He lives somewhere out of state and the last time he had contact with his daughter was five years ago on the telephone. Financial support had been sporadic and then ceased. The last time that he made any attempt at supporting her was three years and four months ago when he did send some money. There has been no contact and no money for years, so he has been basically out of the picture for some time.

The information that we found online said that our first step toward adoption should be to visit the court clerk at our local courthouse. The clerk told us that they did not have any paperwork for adoptions and that the Washington Courts website did not have any printable forms for adoption either. She checked with someone there who handled adoption filings, and they couldn't tell us where to get the forms. Eventually they pulled a previous file to see where the paperwork came from. They gave us the name of a website where you can print forms to use in your adoption filing, but it does cost quite a bit of money.

We began to scour the internet looking for any forms relevant to adoption in Washington State. We found printable adoption forms for many other states for free, but we still haven't found any forms relating to stepparent adoption in our state. Are there universal forms that we could use in our state, or are any of these other forms accepted in Washington? Where can I find out what will be required? Is there a way that we can do this without spending a great amount of money?

I realize that for me to adopt her daughter the ex-husband would have to give up his parental rights and that we would have to contact him to get his consent to the adoption. The problem that we face is that we don't currently know where he lives. What steps do we need to take in finding him? Would a newspaper advertisement in his last known city of residence suffice? How do we document our efforts for the court? Is it possible that the court might say at some point that he has abandoned his child and has forfeited his parental rights?

Also, I would be curious to know of any other issues that we might need to be aware of. Are there other problems that people in this situation commonly face? What do we need to watch out for?

Thanks in advance for any help.
 
Until Father's rights have been terminated your adoption isnt going to happen. Now this process is not always easy and I would strongly urge you to seek legal advice from an Attorney in this field
 
Follow up advice?

Buesher,

My spouse and I are considering the same - a step parent adoption in Washington State. Our situation is a little different however, we are able to contact the non-custodial parent and have his consent to proceed. We're having the same trouble you did in finding the proper forms though, and I was wondering how you were able find that documentation (assuming you and your wife were able to complete the adoption). Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!

Best regards,
spuandrea
 
Step Parent Adoption in Washington State

As discussed above, it's difficult to find the forms for a step parent adoption in Washington State. My husband had some luck, however, and we were able to get a package of step parent specific adoption legal forms at a superior court location. It's in-person only, the packet cost $20, they don't take cash or cards and we can only attest to this being available in King county. Other counties, I'm not sure. There are two locations we know of where you can get the forms - downtown Seattle and Kent. The clerk said it was for adoptions with consent only, but there are forms included for adoption w/out consent, or for parties with alleged father(s).

Hopefully this information is helpful for anyone researching the topic in the future.
 
As discussed above, it's difficult to find the forms for a step parent adoption in Washington State. My husband had some luck, however, and we were able to get a package of step parent specific adoption legal forms at a superior court location. It's in-person only, the packet cost $20, they don't take cash or cards and we can only attest to this being available in King county. Other counties, I'm not sure. There are two locations we know of where you can get the forms - downtown Seattle and Kent. The clerk said it was for adoptions with consent only, but there are forms included for adoption w/out consent, or for parties with alleged father(s).

Hopefully this information is helpful for anyone researching the topic in the future.

The Original Poster hasn't been back in well over a year...You are much better off posting this question to your own thread, rather than resurrecting a 15 month old thread.
 
Step-Parent Adoption

We have gone through all of our options as well for a step-parent adoption when you have no clue where the absent parent and/or not willing to sign over paternal rights.

We live in Pierce County and you can go to the Law Library in Tacoma at the Courthouse and they have the paperwork needed to file (just make sure you bring dollar bills as it costs around $3-$5 to photocopy and I would recommend making multiple copies in case of mistakes)...after that you just file with the County Clerk.

Now if you do not know where the absent parent is or the absent parent is not willing to sign over rights, then you need to get an adoption attorney. It usually costs between $1500-$3000 max from what I have found. Ours is going to be around $2000 max.

The attorney told me that we will need the following done if parent is unknown or unwilling...
*Homestudy $300
*Filing Fee $250 (u have to pay this if you file the paperwork yourself as well)
*Birth Certificate (once adoption complete) $35.00
*Certified Mail (the attorney will send a certified letter to the last known address of absent parent and/or any relatives that are around)
*Also in some cases you will have to publish an announcement in the newspaper (around $320) to notify absent parent (like they are really gonna see it...they just do this so that they make sure you have really tried to find them)..(i think this one is ridiculous and a waste of money personally)
*Attorney Fees (the attorney I originally contacted quoted me around $1000 but I am waiting for a call back from another one)

REMEMBER: I LIVE IN PIERCE COUNTY WASHINGTON SO THE LAWS AND LOCATIONS TO RECEIVE PAPERWORK MAY BE DIFFERENT!!!
 
would u mind telling me the website u found the forms on. i live in florida and am trying to have my new husband adopt my kids from previous mariage. best of luck 2 u, im trying to do the same thing. if i hear of anything 2 i will post it 2 u :)
 
Do it yourself step-parent adoption in WA in EASY

My wife and I have been married for a year and I would like to adopt her seven year old daughter. We have been together for four years and four months and her ex-husband has not really been involved. He lives somewhere out of state and the last time he had contact with his daughter was five years ago on the telephone. Financial support had been sporadic and then ceased. The last time that he made any attempt at supporting her was three years and four months ago when he did send some money. There has been no contact and no money for years, so he has been basically out of the picture for some time.

The information that we found online said that our first step toward adoption should be to visit the court clerk at our local courthouse. The clerk told us that they did not have any paperwork for adoptions and that the Washington Courts website did not have any printable forms for adoption either. She checked with someone there who handled adoption filings, and they couldn't tell us where to get the forms. Eventually they pulled a previous file to see where the paperwork came from. They gave us the name of a website where you can print forms to use in your adoption filing, but it does cost quite a bit of money.

We began to scour the internet looking for any forms relevant to adoption in Washington State. We found printable adoption forms for many other states for free, but we still haven't found any forms relating to stepparent adoption in our state. Are there universal forms that we could use in our state, or are any of these other forms accepted in Washington? Where can I find out what will be required? Is there a way that we can do this without spending a great amount of money?

I realize that for me to adopt her daughter the ex-husband would have to give up his parental rights and that we would have to contact him to get his consent to the adoption. The problem that we face is that we don't currently know where he lives. What steps do we need to take in finding him? Would a newspaper advertisement in his last known city of residence suffice? How do we document our efforts for the court? Is it possible that the court might say at some point that he has abandoned his child and has forfeited his parental rights?

Also, I would be curious to know of any other issues that we might need to be aware of. Are there other problems that people in this situation commonly face? What do we need to watch out for?

Thanks in advance for any help.

We are in Yakima county and completed a step-parent adoption (of two daughters) ourselves. Here was what we did:
1) Went to the website: Do It Yourself Documents® - Step Parent Adoption Service, Washington State
We filled out the document on-line and paid $148.50. We were contacted via email by them, and set up an appointment the following week to meet the notary in Seattle, who would notarize the documents, so we could file them in court. We had the natural father meet us there, and he signed right there and the notary took care of his paperwork too.
2) We contacted a social worker to set up the home study. You only need one home study, and it must be conducted before the step-parent adoption. The judge will need the social worker's report before he will approve the adoption. Our Social Worker charged us $500 for the home study. Note: Some social workers we contacted wanted $800 for this service. Also, it's important to meet with your potential social worker, to make sure you like them. We met with one, and I had a very bad feeling about her, so we didn't use her. Our Social Worker provided us a list of questions she would be asking, to prepare us and our daughters.
3) After the Social Worker meeting, we went to Yakima court, to the court clerk's office. We told the woman we were there to file a step-parent adoption ourselves. She asked us if we wanted a proxy (so that we wouldn't have to come to court at all!). We said yes! I think it cost us an extra $35. So our total fee was a couple of hundred dollars. This proxy is a very important thing to do. It means that when the court clerk receives the Social Worker's report, that the clerk will walk it over to the judge (usually the same day), and the judge signs the document. Our final adoption was signed ONE DAY after the clerk received the Social Worker's report, and when it was done, the clerk called us and told us to come in to pick up the paperwork.
4) Pick up the paperwork from the court clerk. We had five certified copies made (by the clerk) of the final adoption papers. We did this because in 30 days, those legal documents will be sealed forever. Also, we had to write checks to have new birth certificates made for our two girls. The clerk takes these checks, and mails them to the state where the girls were born themselves. (I think the cost was $22 for each daughter.) The clerk will hold the birth certificate forms for 30 days, then mail them to the state where they were born. Why? Because after the adoption is final, they must wait 30 days for someone to contest the adoption. After 30 days passes, the adoption is forevermore legal.

So it cost us about $700 total for the step-parent adoption of our two daughters. Compared to the $6,000 we were quoted by several lawyers, this was remarkable. The process was EASY!

I hope this helps any of you who are considering this option!
 
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