SECOND PARENT ADOPTIONS (or Stepparent Adoptions) are a type of private, non-agency adoption in which a child's legal parent consents to the child being adopted by her domestic partner or spouse, with the result that they will both be the legal parents of the child.  During the action, the court may request that a home study be completed, evaluating the second parent's fitness to be a parent.  However, some judges finalize the adoption without requiring any such investigation.

In the second parent adoption process, where the child was conceived through the use of a known sperm donor, the attorney will need to contact the known donor to obtain a legal relinquishment of his biological rights, or to have his rights terminated by the court, if he refused to sign the legal surrenders.  This would also be the case if the child was born traditionally with two biological parents, whether married or single.

Parents can expect to pay all court fees, the attorney's legal fees, and the related cost for the home study investigation, if one is ordered by the court.