I was wondering how to go about the process of stepparent adoption. I am recently married and my husband would like to adopt my child from my previous marriage. My ex has not seen my daughter in about a year and only paid me child support 3 times last year. She has medical issues which he knows little to nothing about(not for lack of trying on my part) and when he did come see her in the past he would feed her food that made her sick to the point where she ended up in the ER. Is there anyway to force him to terminate his rights so that she can be adopted? Or do I have to somehow get his consent?
In order for a stepparent to adopt the child, there has to be a termination of the other birth parent’s parental rights. This parent may voluntarily consent to the termination. If he won’t consent to this, you’ll have to go through the court.