Stepparent Adoption in Connecticut

Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team - Connecticut - Last updated October 6, 2026

Connecticut has no rule that lets a stepparent adoption go ahead over the other parent's missing consent. Unless that parent has died, C.G.S. 45a-724(a)(2) requires the other parent's rights to be terminated first, on a petition your spouse files in the Probate Court under C.G.S. 45a-715. If the other parent consents, the Probate Courts combine termination and adoption in one petition, form PC-601, and the court must find by clear and convincing evidence that termination is in the child's best interest and that the consent was voluntary and knowing (45a-717(f)). If the other parent does not consent, the court may terminate only after notice and a hearing, on clear and convincing evidence of a ground in 45a-717(g), such as abandonment, and that termination is in the child's best interest. The investigation and report is waived for a stepparent unless good cause is shown (45a-733), and a child 12 or older must consent (45a-724(b)).

Connecticut: termination in Probate Court comes before the stepparent adoption

Connecticut handles stepparent adoption in the Probate Court, and it is built on termination of parental rights rather than on excusing a parent's consent. Under C.G.S. 45a-724(a)(2), your spouse may agree in writing that you will adopt only if your spouse is the surviving parent, the mother of a child born out of wedlock whose notified putative father's rights have been terminated, a former single adoptive parent, or the sole guardian of the person after everyone else's parental rights have been terminated. In most stepfamilies that means your spouse first petitions to terminate the other parent's rights under 45a-715. If the other parent consents on the court form, 45a-724(b) combines the termination and the adoption, and the Probate Courts use form PC-601; the court must find by clear and convincing evidence that termination is in the child's best interest and that the parent voluntarily and knowingly consented (45a-717(f)). If the other parent does not consent, your spouse files form PC-600. After notice served at least ten days before the hearing, with a statement of the right to appointed counsel (45a-716), the court may terminate only on clear and convincing evidence that termination is in the child's best interest and that a ground in 45a-717(g) exists. The two most often raised in stepfamilies are abandonment, meaning the parent 'has failed to maintain a reasonable degree of interest, concern or responsibility as to the welfare of the child', and no ongoing parent-child relationship, where allowing further time to establish or reestablish it would be detrimental to the child's best interests. Neither ground sets a minimum time period, and the court must make the written findings listed in 45a-717(i). A contested case must be transferred to the Superior Court on the motion of any party other than the petitioner (45a-715(g)), and the court must request an investigation and report (45a-717(e)). Once termination is granted, your spouse files form PC-603 for the adoption. For the adoption itself, the investigation is waived for a stepparent unless good cause is shown (45a-733), and a child 12 or older must consent (45a-724(b)).

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