Filing your New Mexico stepparent adoption doesn’t have to be difficult.

Prior to filing your Petition for adoption, you must have been a bona fide resident of New Mexico for six months prior to the filing of the petition, which residency must be stated in the complaint and proved at the final hearing (Drivers License, etc.). If both parties currently reside in the state, then there is no time period required.

If you have minor children living with your spouse in another state for over six months, then you should consider filing in that state as that court has jurisdiction over the children. Your spouse can waive that jurisdiction in writing.

You should file the adoption in the county your spouse lives in, or in the county that you both lived in when you separated, or in your county if your spouse lives out of state. You or your spouse must have a New Mexico address in the county of filing. New Mexico civilian residents living overseas may file in New Mexico if they have maintained their residency in New Mexico.

The grounds which typically justify the termination of parental rights in a stepparent adoption involve abandonment, failure to support the child, imprisonment, certain abuse, and other grounds. The grounds for the termination of parental rights are different for each state, but all states accept the grounds of abandonment and lack of support, and some states include other grounds.

In New Mexico, the absent parent has given implied consent to adoption or relinquishment pursuant to Section 26-10A-9 as outlined below:

1. The absent parent has abandoned the adoptee, failing to offer financial and/or emotional support for a period over 6 months from the filing of this petition.
2. The absent parent has knowingly left the adoptee with the other parent without provisions for support and without communication, or otherwise maintaining a significant parental relationship with the adoptee for a period of over 6 months from the filing of this petition.
3. The natural father failed to comply with Section 26-10C-1, which deals with the putative father.

Most states do not have any provisions for the visitation rights of the parent losing parental rights, or the grandparents associated with that parent. There are some states who will recognize agreements for visitation by the parent losing their parental rights, but this is typically up to the discretion of the adopting parents.

Our documents are for the entire State of New Mexico.

You must file the adoption documents in the Family Court in the county in which you are filing. Some court addresses for larger counties are as follows:

Bernalillo County Courthouse:

400 Lomas Blvd N.W., Albuquerque, NM 87102 Phone: 505-841-7451
 
Santa Fe County Courthouse:

2052 Galisteo St., Santa Fe, NM 87505 Phone: 505-984-9914 ext. 124 Fax: 505-986-5866
 
Santa Fe County Courthouse:

100 Catron Street, P.O. Box 2268, Santa Fe, NM 87505 Phone: 505-476-0189
 
Don Ana County Courthouse:

201 West Picacho, Suite A, Las Cruces, NM 88005 Phone: 505-523-8283 Fax: 505-523-8290
 
McKinely County Courthouse:

201 West Hill, Room 21, Gallup, NM 87301 Phone: 505-863-6816 Fax: 505-722-9172
 
Chaves County Courthouse:

400 N. Virginia, P.O. Box 1776, Roswell, NM 88202-1776 Phone: 505-622-2565 Fax: 505-624-95066138
 

The court filing fees for an adoption in New Mexico are $0.00 (No Fee). The publication fee is approximately $65.
 
There may also be a home study fee that is paid later in the adoption process. Check with your local court for the fee, if any, that may be associated with the home study.
 
You may call the Clerk of the Court in your county to determine the exact fees in your county.

In many stepparent adoptions, the absent parent may be willing to sign a consent form which consents to the termination of their parental rights and consents to the adoption. If the absent parent is willing to sign a consent this will make the process a little easier because the court will know from the beginning that all parties agree to the stepparent adoption. Many of our adoption customers don’t know the whereabouts of the other parent, or the other parent has such a disinterest that he/she just won’t sign any documents. In this situation, you will file the adoption documents and then serve the absent parent by the following manner:

1. Whereabouts of the other parent are UNKNOWN:
If you are unable to locate the absent parent after a diligent search, then you can serve the parent by publication. This means that a notice is published in a local legal publication. Typically publication is once a week for 4 weeks. The publication fee for the newspaper averages around $85, but varies depending on where you live. Upon the filing of the Affidavit the clerk shall direct that service of notice be made by publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the complaint is filed. We provide all the required documents for service by publication.

2.The parent just won’t sign, but grounds exist for the adoption: If you know the whereabouts of the other parent, but that parent won’t sign due to disinterest, you can have that parent served by the Sheriff’s department or a private process server. This can be done even if the other parent is incarcerated in jail or a federal prison.

Go to our questionnaire and get started today.