I am so glad you asked! Child support is an important subject to discuss in regards to stepparent adoptions because, in my experience, it is the number one reason why absent biological parents give up their rights to the child and consent to the stepparent adoption.

Child support payments are usually terminated once the stepparent adoption is finalized in court. This is most relevant when the child to be adopted is still a minor. If the child to be adopted is an adult, then child support payments are not part of the discussion because they are usually already terminated.

So how do the child support payments stop after the stepparent adoption is finalized?

During the stepparent adoption process, the custodial biological parent (the parent the child lives with) usually asks the court who ordered the child support to end it once the stepparent adoption is completed. Once the stepparent adoption is finalized, a copy of the decree of adoption is sent to the judge to show proof that the adoption has been finalized. Once the court receives the decree, it will then sign an order terminating the child support payments. The noncustodial biological parent will receive notice of this once it is completed. And that’s it! Pretty simple right?

If you are ready to begin the stepparent adoption process today, click here to begin.

Bundy Law LLC specializes in adoptions, including step-parent adoptions, domestic adoptions, “re-adoption” for international adoptions, representation for birth mothers, representation for birth parents, relative adoptions, adult adoptions and foster care adoptions.

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