Implications

• Ohio adoption law defines the circumstances under which step-parent adoption may be appropriate. In situations where the child's noncustodial parent has abandoned the child, parental rights have been terminated voluntarily or involuntarily, or the family court has deemed the noncustodial parent unfit, Ohio encourages step-parent adoption. Ohio adoption law does not encourage step-parent adoption in cases where the noncustodial parent is fit and willing to establish or maintain a relationship with the child. Failure to pay court-ordered support obligations is not a valid reason to seek a step-parent adoption in Ohio, although the Ohio family courts may consider this as an external factor when determining whether step-parent adoption is in the best interest of the child.
  
  

Eligibility

• The step-parent must be married to the legal (biological or adoptive) custodial parent of the minor child to qualify for a step-parent adoption. However, this courts wave this requirement for same-sex couples, who cannot marry under Ohio law. A homosexual step-parent can still adopt his partner's child provided he is at least 18 years of age. Otherwise, there are no age requirements for adopting a step-child. If the step-parent is under the age of 18 and the legal custodial parent to whom he is married is at least 18 years of age, the step-parent qualifies to adopt the stepchild. (Ref #2)
  
  

Termination of Parental Rights

• Termination of the noncustodial parent's rights must occur before a step-parent can adopt her stepchild. Voluntary termination is at the behest of the noncustodial parent, however, and the noncustodial parent has no obligation to seek termination. However, the step-parent can petition for involuntary termination of the noncustodial parent's rights if the court finds the noncustodial parent unfit.
  
  

Consent

• A step-parent can adopt a minor child under the age of 12 with the consent of both the mother and the father, if the father was married to the mother at the time of the child's conception or birth or the father acknowledged paternity. The noncustodial parent must appear in court to provide consent in the presence of the judge. For minor children who are 12 or older, the step-parent also needs the permission of the minor child unless the court determines that the adoption is in the best interest of the child.
  
  

Appeals

• The noncustodial parent can, within one year of the final adoption decree, appeal the step-parent adoption on the grounds of fraud, misrepresentation, failure to make appropriate notice of the adoption proceedings, or the court's lack of jurisdiction. The noncustodial parent may not appeal beyond the first year after the adoption decree was finalized.