I understand that the court may use the circumstances and level of commitment of petitioners in deciding an adoption petition (as factors, not determinative alone) based on "the best interests of the child" standard. I wanted to be clear that it was not a preclusive factor. You mentioned that Utah uses it as an exclusion, do you have authority for that (I did a quick westlaw search, but only found one case that said it could be considered as a factor only, though admittedly I did not spend a lot of time searching (I also realize that in practice outcomes can be decided for other than the legal reasonings listed). This was more of a "state of the law" question.

If I understand you correctly, there is no legal preclusion then of a single/unmarried person from adopting (which was my understanding).

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Originally Posted by adthern

... You mentioned that Utah uses it as an exclusion, do you have authority for that (I did a quick westlaw search, but only found one case that said it could be considered as a factor only, though admittedly I did not spend a lot of time searching ...

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If the statute is clear, you are not as likely to find case law. Who is going to file a petition, and then appeal, when there is no statutory basis for such a petition in the first place? Especially when the issue is whether a fiancé can do a step-parent adoption before actual marriage? Litigation isn't cost-effective. It's much easier to simply wait to get married and then proceed with the adoption.

And its similar to how Synnen explained it: If the boyfriend isn't ready to commit to marriage, why in the world would he bother with expensive litigation which he is most likely going to loose in any event?

HRC | Adoption Laws: State by State

This site has a pretty good breakdown of whether single parents, or co-habiting unmarried adults can adopt. I've not researched EVERY state listed here to see if they are correct in their assessment, but I have checked a few. It is EXTREMELY difficult to adopt in Utah if you are not married. Period, full stop. You CAN adopt as a single person, but risk having that adoption overturned if it is known that you cohabitate with someone not your spouse.

I used this site when I was researching how adoption law and the same-sex marriage laws combined were discriminatory--long story--and it seems to be fairly accurate.