Stiefkindadoption eines Kindes in Deutschland, Inlandadoption Begleitung

Do you want to adopt your stepchild? The adoption office will advise and guide you through the next steps. Find out more about the process here.

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.

The requirements include the following:

• You must be married to each other as a couple, in a registered civil partnership or living in another permanent partnership. You are considered to be in a stable partnership if you have lived together for at least four years or have a child together and live together as a family.
• You should 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, they must also give their consent.
• The child must be informed about the existing step-parenthood, as the family court may also speak to the child.

Otherwise, the same requirements apply as for the adoption of another person's child.

• The adoption agency advises all parties involved
• The application is submitted to the family court
• The need for adoption and suitability are checked
• The family court decides on the adoption

Different-sex couples and same-sex couples can adopt a stepchild.

It is also a stepchild adoption if the partner of the biological mother in a lesbian partnership - following artificial insemination or sperm donation, for example - wishes to obtain legal parenthood for the child of their choice and applies to adopt the child.