Filing your New York 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 York for six months prior to the filing of the petition, proof of 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 York address in the county of filing. New York civilian residents living overseas may file in New York if they have maintained their residency in New York.

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 York, 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 York.

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

New York County Supreme Court, Civil Term:
71 Thomas Street, New York, NY 10013 Phone: 646-386-3770

New York County Supreme Court, Civil Term:

60 Centre Street, New York County Courthouse, New York, NY 10007 Phone: 646-386-3685

Queens County Supreme Court, Civil Term:

88-11 Sutphin Blvd., Queens County Courthouse, Jamaica, NY 11435 Phone: (718) 298-1000

Queens County Family Court:

151-20 Jamaica Avenue, Queens County Family Court, Jamaica, NY 11432 Phone: (718) 298-0197 Fax: (718) 297-2826

Bronx County Supreme Court, Civil Term:

851 Grand Concourse, Bronx County Supreme Court, Bronx, NY 10451 Phone: (212) 791-6000

Bronx County Family Court:

900 Sheridan Avenue, Bronx County Family Court, Bronx, NY 10451 Phone: (718) 590-3318 Fax: (718) 590-2681

Westchester County Supreme Court:

140 Grand Street, White Plains, NY 10601 Phone: (914) 824-5300/5400 Fax: (914) 995-3427

Kings County Supreme Court, Civil Term:

360 Adams Street, Kings County Civic Center, Brooklyn, NY 11201 Phone: (347) 296-1183

Onondaga County Supreme Court – Civil:

401 Montgomery Street, Onondaga Courts Building, 110, Syracuse, NY 13202 Phone: (315) 671-1030 Fax: (315) 671-1176

Monroe County Supreme Court:

99 Exchange Blvd., Hall of Justice, 5th Floor, Room 545, Rochester, NY 14614 Phone: Ph: (585) 428-2020/2331 Fax: (585) 428-2190

Erie County Supreme Court:

25 Delaware Avenue, Erie County Courthouse, Buffalo, NY 14202 Phone: 716.845.9301 Fax: 716.851.3293

Niagara County Supreme Court:

775 3rd Street, Angelo DelSignore Civic Office Bldg, Niagara Falls, NY 14302 Phone: 716.278.1800

The court filing fees for a adoption in New York are $0.00 (No Fee). The publication fee is approximately $65.

There many 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.