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In a stepparent adoption process, there are various people involved in the process and all of those people usually have a role to play. Your stepparent adoption lawyer will draft all the paperwork. The biological parent who lives with the child has paperwork to fill out, the stepparent has paperwork to fill out, and the child, if over 14, also has paperwork to fill out.

So what happens in a stepparent adoption process if there is a child support order or a custody order already in place? Well that judge who ordered the child support or custody will also have a role to play in the process.

If there’s a child support or custody order in place, your stepparent adoption lawyer will file what’s called a “Motion For District Court’s Consent To Adoption” before that judge. You will then appear in court for a hearing on that motion and that judge will need to agree to the adoption before you can move forward.

Sometimes, this process can become complicated. If the child support was ordered outside of Nebraska, then you may or may not have to ask the judge to agree to the adoption. Whether you will need to or not will depend on your unique circumstances. If the child support was entered here in Nebraska, but in a different county than the one you currently reside in, then the case will need to be transferred to the county where you presently reside before the judge can agree to the adoption.

Most of the time when the biological mother applies for Medicaid for her and the child, the State of Nebraska will attempt to have a child support put in place for the biological father. When the State does this, the biological mother is usually not a part of the case and this adds another step to the stepparent adoption process because the biological mother will need to be added to the case.

So, if there is a current child support or custody case in place for your child, your process to finalizing your stepparent adoption will take a little bit longer.

To get started with your stepparent adoption, click here to book your call today.