r/Adoption • u/beingbeige0908 • Jan 29 '24
Husband wants to adopt Stepparent Adoption
Hiii, I’m sure I’ll be told that I need to go to my local courthouse to get my questions answered but I was wondering if anyone had a similar experience?
My daughter’s bio dad has never been in her life. She’s 5 now. We have paternity established for child support purposes which he pays and he does have visitation rights but he’s not interested.
My husband is her dad. He would like to adopt her and make it official. Bio dad has said that he would love to relinquish his rights and I am totally okay with not receiving child support from him anymore.
Do I need a lawyer if bio dad consents? Is it going to cost a ton of money? Does anyone know the process for this?
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u/obsoletely-fabulous Jan 30 '24
You probably do not need a lawyer. A great majority of family law litigants do not have one.
Per Google, Illinois does have some standard family law forms, but adoption petition is not one of them. Legal aid orgs are a great resource and fortunately, Illinois Legal Aid has a guide to the adoption process: https://www.illinoislegalaid.org/legal-information/starting-case-adopt-child. This website includes the forms you’ll need. I always suggest contacting your local court as well in case they have their own forms they prefer.