Whether the other parent consents
A signed relinquishment turns a twelve-month fight into a four-month process. Most of the cost in adoption is the termination contest, not the adoption.
Practice area
Adoption
Stepparent, relative and agency adoption, and the termination step that has to come first.
What the law actually says
An adoption is really two cases. The parental rights of the existing legal parent must be terminated, voluntarily or involuntarily, and only then may the court grant the adoption. Skipping over the termination analysis is the most common reason a hopeful stepparent adoption stalls for a year.
In a stepparent adoption the simplest path is a voluntary affidavit of relinquishment under section 161.103, executed at least forty-eight hours after the child's birth and, once filed, irrevocable after sixty days unless it was obtained by fraud or duress. Where the other parent will not sign, we look to the involuntary grounds in section 161.001, most often the constructive abandonment and non-support grounds requiring specific proof over a defined period.
Texas requires a post-placement report and criminal history and child abuse registry checks for the adopting parties. The court also appoints an ad litem for the child in most contested adoptions. A child ten or older must consent in writing to the adoption.
Governed principally by Tex. Fam. Code ch. 161 and 162
What we handle in this area
- Stepparent adoption after termination by relinquishment or by suit
- Grandparent and relative adoption, including kinship placements
- Agency and private placement adoption
- Adult adoption under chapter 162 subchapter E
- Adoptions following a foster placement and DFPS conservatorship
- Second-parent and same-sex couple adoption
- Interstate placements requiring ICPC approval
- Amending the birth certificate and obtaining the new record
How the case runs
Durations below are what we typically see on the El Paso County family docket. They are not statutory guarantees, and a case with a contested issue can sit outside them entirely.
- Week 1 to 2
Eligibility review
We confirm standing, residency, consent requirements and whether the child has been in your home the required six months.
- Month 1 to 6
Termination
Relinquishment affidavit signed and filed, or an involuntary termination suit pleaded and set.
- Month 1 to 3
Background checks and home study
Criminal history, central registry clearance and a licensed social study of the home.
- Month 3 to 6
Post-placement report
A licensed worker visits the home after placement and files the report the judge will read.
- Month 4 to 9
Final hearing
A short, genuinely pleasant hearing. Bring the family. Judges usually allow photographs afterwards.
- 6 to 10 weeks after
New birth certificate
The court's order goes to Vital Statistics and a new certificate issues naming the adoptive parent.
What drives the cost and the timeline
Whether the father is known and served
An alleged father must be served or his rights terminated through the paternity registry. Unregistered alleged fathers can often be handled quickly.
Prior CPS involvement
An open or recent DFPS case changes the procedure and may require coordination with the department and the child's ad litem.
Where the child has lived
A child placed from another state requires ICPC approval before the placement is lawful, which adds four to eight weeks.
Our stepparent adoption took seven months and the final hearing was the best twenty minutes of the year. Priya even reminded us to bring a camera.
Questions we get about adoption
Yes, but only by proving a statutory ground for involuntary termination and that termination is in the child's best interest. Failure to support the child for one year and constructive abandonment are the grounds most often available, and each has precise elements.
A completed adoption terminates the former parent's rights and their future support obligation. It does not erase arrears that accrued before the termination order.
You may request a name change in the adoption petition, and the court will ordinarily grant it. A new birth certificate issues with the new name and the adoptive parent listed.
A pre-adoptive social study is generally required, although courts may waive it for a stepparent or grandparent who has lived with the child. A post-placement report is still filed.
Our sample flat fee is $3,200 plus filing fees, service, the social study and the ad litem, which together commonly add $900 to $1,800. Contested terminations are billed hourly.