Do I need a court hearing if I want to adopt my stepson, even though my wife has full custody.

Certainly. There are a number of things you need to do in order to adopt them. You will need to

• file the proper forms with the court and accomplish service of process on the necessary parties;
• get consent of the father, or a court waiver of consent; and
• properly notice the hearing,

To name a few.

Get an attorney and take it from there.

Well I got the forms already, so if the father is not in his life and my wife has full coustdy. I still need a consent from the father!? And if so, I can asj the court for a wavier for consent!

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Originally Posted by AK lawyer

Certainly. There are a number of things you need to do in order to adopt them. You will need to

• file the proper forms with the court andOoooo accomplish service of process on the necessary parties;
• get consent of the father, or a court waiver of consent; and
• properly notice the hearing,

to name a few.

Get an attorney and take it from there.

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So I can get a wavier for consent if the father is not in my stepsons life.!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Keanu81

So I can get a wavier for consent if the father is not in my stepsons life.!?

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That will depend on the statute and perhaps case law for whatever state or country you are in. Most states allow for what I call "waiver" under some circumstances. And the judge may or may not rule that consent is not necessary under the circumstances. But you almost always need to attempt to notify the bio-father of the adoption.

If people could terminate the parental rights of other people just because they wanted to adopt, there would be no waiting list for adoptions because people could just go find someone that THEY deem unsuitable to parent and just take their kids away.

Of COURSE you have to notify (or attempt to notify) the biological father.

You CAN do adoptions without a lawyer. You can also set a bone without a doctor. I don't recommend either.

Get a family law attorney in your area to walk you through this.