Stepparent adoption is the most common form of adoption. The adopting stepparent takes upon financial and legal responsibility for children of his/her spouses and releases no custodial parent of parental responsibilities, in other words, the parent without legal custody loses his/her parental rights and duties. When step-parent want to adopt a step-child, the child's parents (custodial and non custodial) are typically both required to consent to that adoption. In consenting to an adoption a non- custodial parent hands over all parental rights and responsibilities including child support. If the non- custodial parent refuses to consent to it, then State laws may prevent the adoption from proceeding, if not all requirements are fulfilled. Among these requirements are marriage of of stepparent and biological parent of a child for a year or longer, financial and marital stability of stepparent, physical and mental health and criminal history.
