Is it possible to adopt my stepdaughter without the mother involved?

Full question:

I have a stepdaughter that is going to be 15 in 2 months. I would like to adopt her. Her father and I have been married for 9 years and she has lived with us since. She has not seen her mother for 4 years and her mother did not pay any support until the case started taking it out of her check in May. She did not want to pay and has NO contact with my daughter for 4 years. No calls for holidays or birthdays. Her mother has 4 kids by 3 men and signed her 2nd child away when she was only 2 years old (she is 18 now). I hired an attorney but not sure if he knows much about this situation. I am in the state of Missouri. The mother clearly has abandoned the child and is only paying cs since they are taking it out of her check. The mother said that she would sign and now she isn't doing it. We also have one of her other children and she hasn't seen him in 2 years. A total loser mother. PLEASE HELP!

• Category: Divorce
• Subcategory: Child Custody
• Date: 04/07/2025
• State: Missouri

Answer:

Whether the parent may have her parental rights terminated will be a subjective determination for the court, based on all the facts and circumstances involved. Missouri statutes allow an adoption to occur despite not having the parent's consent when the parent, immediately prior to the filing of the petition for adoption, willfully abandoned the child or, for a period of at least six months immediately prior to the filing of the petition for adoption, willfully, substantially and continuously neglected to provide him with necessary care and protection. Please see the statutes below to determine applicablility.

The following are MO stautes:

453.040. Consent of parents not required, when. —

The consent to the adoption of a child is not required of:

(1) A parent whose rights with reference to the child have been
terminated pursuant to law, including section 211.444, RSMo, or section
211.447, RSMo, or other similar laws in other states;

(2) A parent of a child who has legally consented to a future adoption of
the child;

(3) A parent whose identity is unknown and cannot be ascertained at the
time of the filing of the petition;

(4) A man who has not been established to be the father and who is not
presumed by law to be the father, and who, after the conception of the
child, executes a verified statement denying paternity and disclaiming any
interest in the child and acknowledging that this statement is irrevocable
when executed and follows the consent as set forth in section 453.030;

(5) A parent or other person who has not executed a consent and who,
after proper service of process, fails to file an answer or make an
appearance in a proceeding for adoption or for termination of parental
rights at the time such cause is heard;

(6) A parent who has a mental condition which is shown by competent
evidence either to be permanent or such that there is no reasonable
likelihood that the condition can be reversed and which renders the parent
unable to knowingly provide the child the necessary care, custody and
control;

(7) A parent who has for a period of at least six months, for a child one
year of age or older, or at least sixty days, for a child under one year of
age, immediately prior to the filing of the petition for adoption,
willfully abandoned the child or, for a period of at least six months
immediately prior to the filing of the petition for adoption, willfully,
substantially and continuously neglected to provide him with necessary care
and protection;

(8) A parent whose rights to the child may be terminated for any of the
grounds set forth in section 211.447, RSMo, and whose rights have been
terminated after hearing and proof of such grounds as required by sections
211.442 to 211.487, RSMo. Such petition for termination may be filed as a
count in an adoption petition.

211.447. Petition to terminate parental rights filed, when — juvenile court
may terminate parental rights, when — investigation to be made — grounds
for termination. —

1. Any information that could justify the filing of a petition to
terminate parental rights may be referred to the juvenile officer by any
person. The juvenile officer shall make a preliminary inquiry and if it
does not appear to the juvenile officer that a petition should be filed,
such officer shall so notify the informant in writing within thirty days of
the referral. Such notification shall include the reasons that the petition
will not be filed. Thereupon, the informant may bring the matter directly
to the attention of the judge of the juvenile court by presenting the
information in writing, and if it appears to the judge that the information
could justify the filing of a petition, the judge may order the juvenile
officer to take further action, including making a further preliminary
inquiry or filing a petition.

2. Except as provided for in subsection 4 of this section, a petition to
terminate the parental rights of the child's parent or parents shall be
filed by the juvenile officer or the division, or if such a petition has
been filed by another party, the juvenile officer or the division shall
seek to be joined as a party to the petition, when:

(1) Information available to the juvenile officer or the division
establishes that the child has been in foster care for at least fifteen
of the most recent twenty-two months; or

(2) A court of competent jurisdiction has determined the child to be an
abandoned infant. For purposes of this subdivision, an "infant" means any
child one year of age or under at the time of filing of the petition. The
court may find that an infant has been abandoned if:

(a) The parent has left the child under circumstances that the identity
of the child was unknown and could not be ascertained, despite diligent
searching, and the parent has not come forward to claim the child; or

(b) The parent has, without good cause, left the child without any
provision for parental support and without making arrangements to visit or
communicate with the child, although able to do so; or

(3) A court of competent jurisdiction has determined that the parent has:

(a) Committed murder of another child of the parent; or

(b) Committed voluntary manslaughter of another child of the parent; or

(c) Aided or abetted, attempted, conspired or solicited to commit such a
murder or voluntary manslaughter; or

(d) Committed a felony assault that resulted in serious bodily injury to
the child or to another child of the parent.

3. A termination of parental rights petition shall be filed by the
juvenile officer or the division, or if such a petition has been filed by
another party, the juvenile officer or the division shall seek to be
joined as a party to the petition, within sixty days of the judicial
determinations required in subsection 2 of this section, except as
provided in subsection 4 of this section. Failure to comply with this
requirement shall not deprive the court of jurisdiction to adjudicate a
petition for termination of parental rights which is filed outside of
sixty days.

4. If grounds exist for termination of parental rights pursuant to
subsection 2 of this section, the juvenile officer or the division may, but
is not required to, file a petition to terminate the parental rights of the
child's parent or parents if:

(1) The child is being cared for by a relative; or

(2) There exists a compelling reason for determining that filing such a
petition would not be in the best interest of the child, as documented in
the permanency plan which shall be made available for court review; or

(3) The family of the child has not been provided such services as
provided for in section 211.183.

5. The juvenile officer or the division may file a petition to terminate
the parental rights of the child's parent when it appears that one or more
of the following grounds for termination exist:

(1) The child has been abandoned. For purposes of this subdivision a
"child" means any child over one year of age at the time of filing of the
petition. The court shall find that the child has been abandoned if, for a
period of six months or longer:

(a) The parent has left the child under such circumstances that the
identity of the child was unknown and could not be ascertained, despite
diligent searching, and the parent has not come forward to claim the child;
or

(b) The parent has, without good cause, left the child without any
provision for parental support and without making arrangements to visit or
communicate with the child, although able to do so;

(2) The child has been abused or neglected. In determining whether to
terminate parental rights pursuant to this subdivision, the court shall
consider and make findings on the following conditions or acts of the
parent:

(a) A mental condition which is shown by competent evidence either to be
permanent or such that there is no reasonable likelihood that the condition
can be reversed and which renders the parent unable to knowingly provide
the child the necessary care, custody and control;

(b) Chemical dependency which prevents the parent from consistently
providing the necessary care, custody and control of the child and which
cannot be treated so as to enable the parent to consistently provide such
care, custody and control;

(c) A severe act or recurrent acts of physical, emotional or sexual abuse
toward the child or any child in the family by the parent, including an act
of incest, or by another under circumstances that indicate that the parent
knew or should have known that such acts were being committed toward the
child or any child in the family; or

(d) Repeated or continuous failure by the parent, although physically or
financially able, to provide the child with adequate food, clothing,
shelter, or education as defined by law, or other care and control
necessary for the child's physical, mental, or emotional health and
development;

(3) The child has been under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court for a
period of one year, and the court finds that the conditions which led to
the assumption of jurisdiction still persist, or conditions of a
potentially harmful nature continue to exist, that there is little
likelihood that those conditions will be remedied at an early date so that
the child can be returned to the parent in the near future, or the
continuation of the parent-child relationship greatly diminishes the
child's prospects for early integration into a stable and permanent home.
In determining whether to terminate parental rights under this subdivision,
the court shall consider and make findings on the following:

(a) The terms of a social service plan entered into by the parent and the
division and the extent to which the parties have made progress in
complying with those terms;

(b) The success or failure of the efforts of the juvenile officer, the
division or other agency to aid the parent on a continuing basis in
adjusting his circumstances or conduct to provide a proper home for the
child;

(c) A mental condition which is shown by competent evidence either to be
permanent or such that there is no reasonable likelihood that the condition
can be reversed and which renders the parent unable to knowingly provide
the child the necessary care, custody and control;

(d) Chemical dependency which prevents the parent from consistently
providing the necessary care, custody and control over the child and which
cannot be treated so as to enable the parent to consistently provide such
care, custody and control; or

(4) The parent has been found guilty or pled guilty to a felony violation
of chapter 566, RSMo, when the child or any child in the family was a
victim, or a violation of section 568.020, RSMo, when the child or any
child in the family was a victim. As used in this subdivision, a "child"
means any person who was under eighteen years of age at the time of the
crime and who resided with such parent or was related within the third
degree of consanguinity or affinity to such parent; or

(5) The child was conceived and born as a result of an act of forcible
rape. When the biological father has pled guilty to, or is convicted of,
the forcible rape of the birth mother, such a plea or conviction shall be
conclusive evidence supporting the termination of the biological father's
parental rights; or

(6) The parent is unfit to be a party to the parent and child
relationship because of a consistent pattern of committing a specific
abuse, including but not limited to, abuses as defined in section 455.010,
RSMo, child abuse or drug abuse before the child or of specific
conditions directly relating to the parent and child relationship either
of which are determined by the court to be of a duration or nature that
renders the parent unable, for the reasonably foreseeable future, to care
appropriately for the ongoing physical, mental or emotional needs of the
child. It is presumed that a parent is unfit to be a party to the
parent-child relationship upon a showing that within a three-year period
immediately prior to the termination adjudication, the parent's parental
rights to one or more other children were involuntarily terminated
pursuant to subsection 2 or 4 of this section or subdivisions (1), (2),
(3) or (4) of subsection 5 of this section or similar laws of other
states.

6. The juvenile court may terminate the rights of a parent to a child
upon a petition filed by the juvenile officer or the division, or in
adoption cases, by a prospective parent, if the court finds that the
termination is in the best interest of the child and when it appears by
clear, cogent and convincing evidence that grounds exist for termination
pursuant to subsection 2, 4 or 5 of this section.

7. When considering whether to terminate the parent-child relationship
pursuant to subsection 2 or 4 of this section or subdivision (1), (2), (3)
or (4) of subsection 5 of this section, the court shall evaluate and make
findings on the following factors, when appropriate and applicable to the
case:

(1) The emotional ties to the birth parent;

(2) The extent to which the parent has maintained regular visitation or
other contact with the child;

(3) The extent of payment by the parent for the cost of care and
maintenance of the child when financially able to do so including the time
that the child is in the custody of the division or other child-placing
agency;

(4) Whether additional services would be likely to bring about lasting
parental adjustment enabling a return of the child to the parent within an
ascertainable period of time;

(5) The parent's disinterest in or lack of commitment to the child;

(6) The conviction of the parent of a felony offense that the court finds
is of such a nature that the child will be deprived of a stable home for a
period of years; provided, however, that incarceration in and of itself
shall not be grounds for termination of parental rights;

(7) Deliberate acts of the parent or acts of another of which the parent
knew or should have known that subjects the child to a substantial risk of
physical or mental harm.

8. The court may attach little or no weight to infrequent visitations,
communications, or contributions. It is irrelevant in a termination
proceeding that the maintenance of the parent-child relationship may serve
as an inducement for the parent's rehabilitation.

9. In actions for adoption pursuant to chapter 453, RSMo, the court may
hear and determine the issues raised in a petition for adoption containing
a prayer for termination of parental rights filed with the same effect as a
petition permitted pursuant to subsection 2, 4, or 5 of this section.

Please see the information at the following links:

http://definitions.uslegal.com/t/termination-of-parental-rights/
http://definitions.uslegal.com/a/adoption/
http://definitions.uslegal.com/u/unfit-parent/
http://lawdigest.uslegal.com/family-laws/adoption/
http://lawdigest.uslegal.com/family-laws/adoption-overview/
http://lawdigest.uslegal.com/family-laws/guardianship/

Please see the forms at the following links:

http://secure.uslegalforms.com/cgi-bin/forms/query.pl?S-T-MO-B-adopt
http://secure.uslegalforms.com/cgi-bin/forms/query.pl?S-T-MO-B-term~paren