Adopting my girlfriend's son.

first, you and your gf need to be married at least a year, no judge will allow an adoption without you being married. second, since he isnt on the bc, i assume paternity hasnt been established, that needs to be done first, then you two need to get married and be married a year, then persue a stepparent adoption.

Just because he is not on the birth certificate doesn't mean that he is not the legal father. He will still need to be contacted, and his permission given for a stepparent adoption. The fact that he is not lsited on the certificate is going to make the adoption more costly, as paternity will have to be established (taking a DNA test to prove that he is the biological father) Once that has been accomplished you will have to ask him to sign over his parental rights. If he is not willing then you can try to fight him in court, but you will have to prove him unfit. Most states require that you have been married a minimum of one year prior to petitioning for a stepparent adoption. There are a few who will accept a six month marriage, but it is rare. The courts want to see that the marriage is stable and that it will be a lasting relationship so that the child will not suffer the loss of yet another parent in his or her life. Adoptions are costly, non-contested adoptions can run around $2500, with contested adoptions being higher, how much so depends on how long the case is drawn out. [url=http://stepparent.adoptionblogs.com]Stepparent Adoption Blog[/url]