The birth father can sign a “relinquishment of parental rights”
Without that he can come back and have the adoption annulled.
The paper is pretty standard and once signed, take 90-120 to be final.
In Indiana, the biological father only has to be absent for six months for it to be abandonment.
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I live in KY and my husband had to legally adopt my son. But my ex was on the BC and was/ is paying CS. I don’t know how your state operates and I know my situation was different but my ex had to sign over his rights and we had to have a separate lawyer for everyone involved. My husband had his lawyer, my son had to have one and so did my ex husband. They came and inspected our home, did a background check on my husband and spoke with my son alone about his feelings, thoughts etc etc about the adoption. It was a lengthy process and we did it in the middle of Covid on top of that so extra stressful. But well worth it. I’d definitely recommend getting in touch with a family lawyer, telling them your issue and seeing what they say. I’d love an update if possible. It’s an important thing to get done. Especially if you want your son to stay with your husband if something were to happen to you. Not sure how old your child is but he’d be sent back to his biological father, if the dad wanted him, should anything happen to you. I couldn’t stand that thought as my son didn’t know his sperm donor. I wish you luck with the process!
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I would be speaking to a lawyer about this
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Just have him sign his birth certificate that’s what I did I was in a similar situation no issues
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Ohio here, my ex agreed to sign rights away, we paid a lawyer $600 and he filed everything for us. It only took 4 signatures and an appearance in front of a judge. Hes now listed on the BC and they changed the last name and everything in one swoop.
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In Indiana if the sperm donor did sign the paternity affidavit at the hospital or the birth certificate. It’s as simple as filing the paperwork for adoption depending on what county you live in I know of a great affordable lawyer if needed for complications due to the sperm donor. If he’s un willing to sign over his rights. If he has them
And as well my oldest sperm donor didn’t sign her birth certificate so her dad and I went down the the birth certificate office, and he signed the paternity affidavit and we changed her name and he is now her dad in the eyes of the law and not just ours. FYI I live in Indiana too
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My daughter is wanting to do the same. The bio father has only seen my grandson 3 times in is life …he is 5…my son inlaw has been daddy since my grandson was 4 months old…
The bio dad has to relinquish his rights before your son can be adopted by your husband
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No advice but congrats and goodluck that’s awesome he wants 2 make it legal
My son was adopted by my ex husband due to the same circumstances. My sons bio dad was not on the birth certificate either but we had to establish paternity before my ex husband could adopt. Talk to a lawyer and ask all the questions.
I’m in Michigan and this was 25 years ago. His bio dad had to terminate his rights to him.
But either way your son knows who his dad is 
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Talk to a lawyer. Here in AZ doesn’t matter if bio dad is not on the birth certificate you still have to go to court to sever his rights.
If no one is on the birth certificate (and you also married so nobody will even question it ) just have him sign acknowledgment of paternity 
there’s no need to adopt him . The biological father doesn’t have rights as of right now and being as though he’s not actually active in his life I don’t think anybody is gonna contest it anyways
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No consent is necessary in a stepparent adoption if any one of the following four circumstances apply:
The noncustodial parent has abandoned the child for more than six months.
The noncustodial parent has failed to support the child for more than one year or failed to make court-ordered child support payments.
The noncustodial parent has failed to significantly communicate with the child for more than one year.
The noncustodial parent is unfit to parent the child. Issues such as drug abuse, mental illness or imprisonment may indicate unfitness.
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Indiana here. Get a family law lawyer. Process can go very quickly if you help it along. Step parent has to do background check, fingerprints, and submit some forms. Have to sign papers to file with indiana state registry and give bio time to respond. Doesn’t matter if he’s not listed on birth certificate. Still have to go through all the processes. Then present in front of judge, and judge approves. Get new ss card and birth certificate with new dad name. Whole process less than a year if process goes smoothly. Good luck to you!
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I brought an adopted daughter into our marriage. When I adopted her, I had to pay an attorney, but DCFS reimbursed me. My hubby adopted her after marriage. We hired the attorney I used before’s Paralegal (the attorney suggested it). It is a fairly simple process. Good luck!
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My husband adopted all 3 of my older children. Seek a family law and adoption attorney. Because your husband is step dad it will be easier. The attorney can explain the process. It went quick for us. We began the adoption in February and it was final in March. Good luck!
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My husband adopted my son a few years ago. His bio dad had never paid any child support and had never been consistently involved with my son. When we decided to go to court we hadn’t had any contact with him for years, even though he only lived like 10 minutes away. He was served papers and never showed up to court to contest the adoption.
another option is to become legal guardian, which doesn’t sever parentcy, but does give the guardian control.
Just have your husband sign his birth certificate than you get a new birth certificate and SS your son with his last name
A family law lawyer should be able to tell u what u need to do in your state. Most of the time u can ask questions without paying, but you will more than likely need one to proceed anyway. Good luck to you
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Indiana adoption law has provisions by which a stepparent can adopt a child without the consent of the noncustodial, biological parent. No consent is necessary in a stepparent adoption if any one of the following four circumstances apply: The noncustodial parent has abandoned the child for more than six months.
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What if you don’t know who the father is & there’s like 5 possibilities but you have no clue who the mend named even are??? I’ve always wondered that…and no that doesn’t apply to me…blame Maury for these thoughts lol
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I’m going through this right now. My daughter’s(11) bio dad hasn’t been in her life since right after she turned two. In ohio, there has to be one year of no contact or support of any kind for the adoption to be approved. Next week, my husband, and the only dad my girl knows and remembers, will finally legally be her dad.
Look into national adoption day and the courts in your area if there is not a father listed on the birth certificate don’t mention him you don’t know who he is (just saying) was told by my lawyer it that was the case would make it easier. Unfortunately my bd passed away so ours was easy but if you look for what I told you, you may get it done free as well we did…good luck
Talk to a lawyer in your state and they’ll tell you what you need to do exactly
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If bio dad is not listed on birth certificate, most states will allow an amendment in good faith without the need for medical documentation of paternity. You just file a request for amendment with the office of vital statistics. If on the rare chance that your state does not allow that, you would have to petition the courts for legal adoption and your family will have to undergo all the typical screening and interviews that any other set of parents would have if they were adopting a child from its birth parents or the state.
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My husband just adopted my son in March. We hired a lawyer and the 1st court hearing was an abandonment hearing. His bio father was served papers telling him that we were petitioning for adoption and had court dates. In Nebraska as long as there is no contact, no child support for a minimum of 6 months they rule that as abandonment. His bio did not show up. 2 weeks later we went to our final hearing and that was the adoption. The judge did point a guardian ad litem for my son who was able to testify on behalf of my son.
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Mariah Spurling can you help?
My granddaughter was born in Kansas , she will be 1 soon , her dad isn’t in the picture at all no child support or even has saw her at all ! My daughter messaged him and asked for a phone number to contact him and he blocked her now ! No phone number or address , she’s married now and spouse wants to adopt her, they live out of state now so do they file paperwork with the court where child was born in or the state they live in ?
Each state has its own laws so any advice you’re given can and probably will change depending on the jurisdiction. A family law attorney can easily help you. In Arkansas, a non-supportive parent has already basically waived their rights and an adoption would typically go smoothly.
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Unfortunately you’ll still have to have the ex sign over his rights. But you can set up a time to talk a family lawyer over the phone for free.
My sister just went through a similar situation. We live in Pennsylvania. The biological dad was not on the birth certificate and her current husband has been around since he was 3 months old. They had to go through the courts and have the biological dad served with papers and a court case to terminate his rights. He didn’t show but they had to wait 30 days to see if he appealed or anything. Since he didn’t they can proceed on with the adoption case now. They do definitely like to see a stable household and such to help the case but your best bet would be to consult a lawyer for exact information!
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Affidavit of parentage girl. We’re doing the same thing at the moment
His father can contest and forbid you to do that. The father must surrender and allow the adoption by the legal step father or he has to be proven unfit. He can say you gave alienated him from his child all this time and kept him from seeing him and the court could give him eventually 50/50. But he’s entitled as his father to be in his life and have overnights
I would personally just see if you can put them on the birth certificate
Hire a lawyer. Then need to confirm the bio dad by DNA so he can officially terminate his parental rights. Hopefully he will do it for the sake of the child. If he doesn’t then the lawyer can step in and see if they can figure out how long bio dad has been absent in your child’s life, that also includes no financial help as well. If it proves he hasn’t been there for several years then your husband can adopt him. Good luck.
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The ex has to relinquish his rights since you know he is the father & he knows he’s the father.
Step parent adoption is what it’s called and you would get that based on abandonment by the bio dad. You will most likely need a lawyer.
You will have to hire a family law attorney more than likely or at least consult with one. Definitely will need a lawyer though! 
The bio father has to sign his rights off
Consult an actual lawyer about it
I’d speak to a family lawyer and discuss what the parental rights are. In some cases the father has to sign over his rights, but I’m no Lawyer.
Technically no rights need to be terminated. Here are the laws for adoption. He is considered to abandoned his child. This was sent to me from a family lawyer.
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In Nys if he’s not on the birth certificate and you don’t have contact in the last year and get married your husband can adopt
Bio dad needs to sign rights away or you need to petition the courts to take his rights for abandoning the child. Hiring a lawyer will make everything easier and smoother on you
You should hire a professional lawyer to get accurate information.
I went through this in 2017. It’s easy to do if the other parent is deceased or consenting. And you won’t need an attorney. The fact that he’s not on the birth certificate does not mean you can just move forward without his consent. I would first talk to him, he will probably be willing to sign over since he’s had no involvement. If he opposes, then yes- you will want to speak with an attorney.
Your ex has to sign the papers to terminate his rights.
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If the bio dad isn’t listed on the bc there shouldn’t be an issue.
The bio father will have to relinquish his rights and then your husband can adopt.
A family law attorney can handle it.
I have 2 adopted children…just because a man isn’t on the BC, that doesn’t mean anything.
If you try to do it without his consent,
The bio father can file a lawsuit demanding intervention and he can provide DNA, which will reinstate his rights.
However, no ethical attorney will do it without bio consent and relinquishment of rights.
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I paid a lawyer 1,000 and she filed adoption papers,she sent the papers to the biological dad to sign,he sent them back and me and then husband signed the adoption papers.We live in TN and biological dad lives in California…He hadn’t been in her life and had not seen her since she was 2 months old…At the time of adoption my daughter was 6 years old.your husband has to be willing and able to assume full responsibility…Biological dad has to be willing to sign away rights…But,there’s other ways to…You can run a public announcement ad for 30 days in the paper and if he don’t respond to that then that’s grounds to loose rights to so ur husband can adopt…Just go to a lawyers office they’ll tell u all that
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A lot depends on if you have anything establishing paternity or support for bio dad. Indiana has some crazy parenting laws so best bet is to call legal aid and have a free consult
U need dads permission. BC means nothing! Call a lawyer not FB. ALL STATES ARE DIFFERENT
Good luck I have no advice but you’re lucky your husband wants to step up.
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Is he also adopting your oldest son, if not how do you think that will make him feel? This should be a private matter, but just something to think about. All the children should be treated and loved equally.
My fiancé adopted my son. We went to a lawyer’s office & they served him papers to sign off his parental rights & he did. It was pretty quick! If he doesn’t sign off his rights you can get him for abandonment if he’s not involved for so long. Good luck 
The father has to sign over his legal rights and agree that he can adopt him 
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How to get him to??
So he hasn’t expressed an interest to? That’s manipulation at best.
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If the father was on the birth certificate you must file abandonment first. Then step parent adoption.
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Terminate the bio fathers rights and have your husband adopt him
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Father has to sign over rights or you have to do it through the court and get Full custody
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Father has to sign over the legal rights to allow this to happen. If he has no contact etc. You can petition a court to allow it, but the step-father has to be there to say this is what he wants.
Every state is different. I live in Michigan. All my fiance has to do is file the adoption paperwork (after we’re married he wants to adopt my son) and there’s 2 forms I can turn in. One without the other parents consent, or the one with consent.
Father needs to have rights terminated. If his name on birth certificate
Go ahead and hire an adoption attorney, you’ll need one anyway
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Consult an attorney. You would have to either have the ex sign his rights or sever them in court. Then your husband can adopt. But the adoption has to be your husband’s and your child’s decision (depending on age of the child).
If your husband isn’t wanting to adopt your child then you have to respect his decision.
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Google step parent adoption + your state. My husband just did it for our son… if the father wasn’t around and isn’t on the BC then there isn’t any notification needed in most states.
Yes you have to do a step parent adoption
Get a lawyer and get it done.
I adopted my husbands daughter.
We went to a lawyer. We ran it in the paper. Went to court. Judge granted it.
However, bio mom was out of the picture for 7+ years at that point.
Talk to a lawyer. When my husband adopted our daughter the lawyer took care of everything
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Every state is different. We’re going through the process after a seven year court battle and in Maine they said the laws changed to make it harder to take a parents rights so we have to get a lawyer to help with the process. We were told there’s a lot of paper work involved. My husband has taken care of my daughter since she was eight months old, her “dad” hasn’t seen her since a month old and they still wouldn’t let us file abandonment.
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My mother tried that move with my father, and made us children do the asking. He was so hurt. So, if the bio father loves your child… its not cool to do. Not fair for a young child to have done that to.
If father is not in the picture, that’s a different story.
My sons father had my son start calling his girlfriend he just met “mommy” when he was two. He was an absent father but loved playing family with my son when he felt like it. They got married and when they had their own kids this girl dropped interest in my son.
They did this mommy thing despite court orders to NOT do this…Got away with it and ignored it all.
She apologized 16 years later when they were divorcing. But, out of all the fkd up things they did to me and my son, this was the most hurtful.
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You’re going to need tot all to a lawyer. If there’s anything that has the bio father on it then he will have to sign rights away or at least have it in the paper or something about it. My cousin had to put something in the paper because she had no idea where the father was to her daughter then after a certain amount of time he didn’t respond then her husband was able to adopt.b
Depends the state. Contact a lawyer. We did a step parent adoption in 2019 in Indiana. It was a pretty quick process but a lawyer is needed here.
Going by the way it reads… does your husband even want to adopt? And how old is the son?
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Go to court and get it done.
Also was he on the birth certificate?
Get a lawyer - and set the date. You have a good man for taking care of your son.
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If it’s just you on the birth certificate, you can just add him on to it! That’s what my husband and I are doing for my 3 year old. That way it’s not as expensive. Now if your ex is on the birth certificate, you will have to have his rights terminated. Ymmv, I live in PA
Too little info or poorly worded.
Are you needing legal advise? Go ask a lawyer
Asking for ways to manipulate your husband? You probably came to the right place 
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Depends on state…
I just had my preliminary hearing yesterday morning feel free to message me
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You’re most likely still going to need the bio dad to sign over on his rights. Best option is to find a lawyer to help you.
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I think some clarification is needed here.
Are you asking how you convince your husband to adopt your son or are you asking what the process is because your husband wants to adopt your son?
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Hire a lawyer. If his father is on the bc or legally ordered to pay child support you’ll need to terminate his rights.
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You can do it without a lawyer. We did. It’s a huge long process (almost 2 yrs for us) and it’s a whole court case. But sounds like it is a pretty clear cut and dry case and he will be allowed to adopt her. Focus on it being about her safety in the future. (If bio just shows up and wants to take “his kid” etc etc.) Best of luck!
I would consult a good family attorney. He’ll know the laws in your state and all the ins and outs of how to get it done. I agree to approach it from a safety standpoint. So the biological father can’t show up out of the blue one day demanding to take his son.
step parent adoption
Call your local County or Parish Bar Association. Ask for a referral to family law attorney or an adoption attorney with malpractice insurance.
Check with the family law courts to see if they offer any workshops or if they can answer questions. Some will. Some will not.
You will be required to serve the child’s bio father with the minor’s adoption filing…you will need to terminate the bio dad’s parental rights. If you don’t know the bio dad’s address, you may be allowed to publish a notice for several weeks in a newspaper. It depends on the court and the jurisdiction.
The issue with this post is that we don’t really know what the poster is intending and we do not know the STATE and County or Parish. Does the other ‘dad’ want to adopt the minor and be financially responsible until the minor reaches majority? Is the bio dad willing to give up his parental rights? Does the minor child want to be adopted and have his name changed? The minor is going to be asked. These questions are absolutely necessary to be answered in order to determine what this question is about.
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This poor lady don’t let people take advantage of her save her and save her money get legal help!!!
Is this what your husband wants? Is it what your son wants? 
if so call your local probate office and your local court houses and ask. You may have to contact child support enforcement also? Best wishes.
You’ll need to prove abandonment or get his signature to terminate his parental rights. Contact a lawyer.
My ex did that to me saying I wouldn’t treat him like my son. The bit of paper did nothing to change what I did.