Adopt a stepchild

In a stepchild adoption, the partner's biological child is adopted. An adoption can make sense if, for example, there has been no contact with the separated parent for years, the other parent is deceased or unknown or stepchildren are to be treated equally under inheritance and maintenance law. In order to guarantee the welfare of these children, the requirements and suitability of the adopting parent are also checked in these cases.
Through adoption, your stepchild becomes your child from a legal point of view. You then have the same responsibility for the child as for a biological child.

All persons involved must seek advice from an adoption agency. The discussions will also focus on whether the child is doing well after the adoption.

The certificates of this counseling must be submitted to the family court during the adoption proceedings. There is an exception to the counseling obligation if the birth mother's partner is applying for adoption and both were already married to each other at the time of the child's birth or are living in a registered civil partnership or a permanent cohabitation.

Requirements

Prerequisites include:

• You must be married to each other as a couple, live in a registered civil partnership or in another permanent cohabitation. A stable cohabitation is defined as living together for at least four years or having a child together and living together as a family.
• They should already have lived together with the child for a reasonable period of time, so that a parent-child relationship has been established.
• Both parents must agree to the application. If the child has reached the age of 14, he or she must also consent himself or herself.
• The child must be informed about the existing stepparenthood, as perhaps the family court will also talk to the child.

Otherwise, the same requirements apply as for the adoption of a foreign child.