My wife and I have been married a little over one year - my stepson- whom I've known for over 3 years - wants me to adopt him- I would love to do this - My wife is also on board-His biological father is dead-

How do I proceed ?

First off your going to need proof the child's father is dead. Was the father proclaimed at any time to be the legal father? ( Sign a Birth Certificate or DNA test )

That is what is going to determine how you proceed. If there is no legal father then you may have to prove one before proceeding. It's a much longer road but still can be accomplished.

I would not recommend going through an adoption without an attorney. So you proceed by shopping around for and retaining an attorney. The attorney will then shepherd you through the process.

If the bio/legal father is deceased and you have proof and the child and mother are agreeable to the adoption then it should be a simple and easy process.

Has the grandparents from the dead fathers family filed for any visitation rights, some states the grandparents have rights. Not that it may stop an adoption, but their rights may be included.

But as long as the bio father was on the birth certificate or proven by DNA and there is proof of death, it should be fairly straight forward, but you will want an attorney