Relative and Stepparent Adoptions in Pima County, Arizona
(Non Indian Child)

Relative and stepparent adoptions, in which the adoptive parents do not need to be certified as acceptable to adopt by the court, are limited to a grandchild, great grandchild, niece, nephew, sibling or stepchild.

Before a grandparent, great grandparent, aunt, uncle, adult sibling or stepparent can adopt a minor relative or stepchild, that child must be “free for adoption.” That means the parent(s) of the child must either give written consent to the adoption or their parental rights to that child need to be terminated.

If the child was born in Arizona and the father has not established paternity, (i.e. he was not married to the mother at any time in the ten months immediately preceding the birth or the child is born within ten months after the marriage is terminated; he is not on the birth certificate; and no court order has ever been entered declaring him to be the father of the child), it may be possible to proceed with the adoption without the father’s consent or termination of his parental rights by obtaining a certificate from vital records stating that no father has filed a notice of claim of paternity with the putative father registry.

In Pima County, Arizona the adoptions examiner at the juvenile court conducts the required social studies for relative and stepparent adoptions. Their fee for performing this service is based upon the total annual gross income of the applicant(s) in the previous tax year. A copy of the most recent Federal tax return must be filed with the application for social study. The fee is the same regardless of the number of children to be adopted.

Fee Schedule for Relative/step Parent Social Study:

$55,000 and over . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$600.00

$50,000 to $54,999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$500.00

$45,000 to $49,999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$400.00

$40,000 to $44,999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$300.00

$35,000 to $39,999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . $200.00

$25,000 to $34,999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$100.00

$0 to $24,999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$0.00

In addition to the above court fee, my legal fee for handling a relative or stepparent adoption is $1,000.00 For this fee, I will prepare a consent for a parent to sign and will check the putative father registry. I will prepare all of the necessary adoption paperwork, file it with the court and attend the final adoption hearing. If the mother, or a father who has established paternity, is unwilling to consent to the adoption, it will be necessary to terminate his or her parental rights before an adoption petition can be filed. Termination actions are not included in the flat fee for adoptions.

The Pima County Juvenile Court, by local rule, requires that any stepparent seeking to adopt a stepchild must be married to the child’s parent for at least a year. A copy of the marriage license must be included in the application for a social study.