3 Difficulties Unmarried Couples Will Face when Trying to Adopt a Child

Vermont is the only state that has laws specifically protecting the rights of unmarried partners to adopt. In Vermont, couples joined in civil unions have the same legal status, rights, and obligations as married couples. In other words, state adoption laws apply to couples in civil unions as well as married couples, without discrimination.

No other state has laws specifically allowing unmarried couples to adopt. Here is why:

If you and your partner are not legally bound together, you, as a unit, cannot be legally bound to a child. Does that mean that, if you do not live in Vermont, you are out of luck?

Not necessarily, but the answer may not be the one you want to hear: If you and your partner want to adopt, only one of you can adopt the child, as a single parent. If you are willing to go this path, keep the following things in mind:

1. During the home study process, the person who is not adopting the child will be interviewed and scrutinized just as much as the person adopting is. After all, even the one who is not adopting will still be parenting.

2. If you and your partner break up, the person who legally adopted the child has all the parental rights; the other person may not even have a right to visitation and would not be required to pay child support.

3. Some states (such as Alaska, California, Delaware Pennsylvania, and a few others) have allowed second parent adoptions, in which the other adult in the home is allowed to adopt the partner's child. So one person adopts the child initially, and later, the other person may be able to adopt the child.

If you are interested in this option, keep in mind a few things:

This rule generally applies to stepparent adoptions, in which the other adult is adopting the spouse's child. In the few instances where the other person adopting isn't the legal spouse, the couple is usually legally joined in either a civil union (as in Vermont) or in a domestic partnership (similar to a civil union).

Just because some second adoptions have been allowed in particular states doesn't mean that those states have laws supporting them. Often the judge hearing your particular case is the one who makes the determination whether the second adoption is allowed.

If you're interested in investigating this option further, contact an adoption lawyer who can explain your state's laws to you.