Call our Alabama Adoption Attorneys today at (205) 201-1789
We handle every type of adoption Alabama law recognizes, in probate courts across the state. Adoption consultations are $100 by phone or in person, applied to your fee if you retain us. We offer flat fees for uncontested stepparent adoptions, and we quote your fee before you hire us, not after.
What Adoption Does in Alabama: Adoption creates a full legal parent-child relationship between the adoptive parent and the child, and it permanently ends the legal rights of the biological parents. Once the probate court enters the final decree, the adoptive parent has every right and every obligation of any other parent, and a new birth certificate issues in the adoptive parents’ names. Adoptions are one of the few family matters filed in Probate Court rather than Circuit Court.
Two Paths, Very Different Cases: Almost every adoption is either consented or contested. When every required person consents, the case is a matter of doing the paperwork correctly and can move quickly. When a biological parent will not consent, the case becomes a contested proceeding over whether consent is required at all, and that is real litigation. Which path you are on drives the timeline, the cost, and the strategy.
The Alabama Framework: Minor adoptions are governed by the Alabama Minor Adoption Code, Ala. Code § 26-10E, which took effect January 1, 2024 and replaced the old § 26-10A code. Adult adoptions run under the separate Alabama Adult Adoption Code, § 26-10F. Consent rules, implied consent, and the situations where a parent’s consent is not required are set out in §§ 26-10E-7 through 26-10E-10, and unmarried biological fathers must protect their rights through the Putative Father Registry under § 26-10C-1.
The Biggest Mistake: Treating consent as a formality. A consent taken the wrong way, from the wrong person, or without the required formalities is the crack that a challenge slips through later. The consent and termination work is the foundation of the whole adoption, and it is the part you most want a lawyer handling, because a defect there puts the decree itself at risk.
This Page Is the Starting Point — Find the Adoption Path That Fits Your Family
Stepparent Adoptions
The most common adoption we handle. A stepparent adopts a spouse’s child, with a flat fee when uncontested.
Stepparent Adoptions →
Grandparent Adoptions
Formalizing the relationship when a grandparent has become the child’s real caregiver.
Grandparent Adoptions →
Agency Adoptions
Adopting through a licensed public or private agency, including foster care adoptions.
Agency Adoptions →
International Adoptions
Adopting a child from another country, coordinating foreign law, federal immigration, and Alabama recognition.
International Adoptions →
Adult Adoptions
Adopting a person 19 or older under § 26-10F, often for inheritance or to formalize a lifelong bond.
Adult Adoptions →
Surrogacy Adoptions
Securing the intended parents’ legal rights after a surrogacy arrangement.
Surrogacy Adoptions →
How Adoption Works in Alabama — and Why the Details Matter
Adoption is the legal process by which an adult becomes the parent of a child, with every right and every responsibility that comes with it, while the legal rights of the biological parents are permanently ended. The bond it creates is exactly as enforceable as a biological parent-child relationship. It affects custody, inheritance, medical decision-making, and the child’s legal identity for the rest of their life.
In Alabama, adoptions are filed in the Probate Court of the county where the petitioner lives, where the child lives, or where the agency holding custody is located. That makes adoption unusual. Nearly everything else our Alabama family law attorneys handle runs through Circuit Court. Probate judges, probate clerks, and probate procedure are their own world, and the counties do not all run their adoption dockets the same way. Jefferson County Probate handles a steady volume of stepparent adoptions. Shelby County’s probate court in Columbiana, Madison County in Huntsville, and Montgomery County each have their own filing habits and hearing practices. Knowing them saves time.
Alabama rewrote its adoption law effective January 1, 2024. The Alabama Minor Adoption Code, Ala. Code § 26-10E, now governs the adoption of children, and the Alabama Adult Adoption Code, § 26-10F, governs the adoption of adults. The old Alabama Adoption Code at § 26-10A was repealed. If you researched adoption before 2024, or you are reading an older article, some of what you learned has changed, including consent procedures, timelines, and the handling of contested cases. Part of our job is making sure your case is built on the current code, not the old one.
We handle adoptions from all four of our offices and file in probate courts across the state. Most of our adoption work is stepparent adoptions, because that is where most Alabama families find themselves: a stepparent who has been the child’s real parent for years and wants the law to say so. But we also handle grandparent adoptions, agency and foster care adoptions, adult adoptions, international adoption recognition, and the parentage work that follows surrogacy arrangements.
What Alabama Courts and Agencies Look For in Adoptive Parents
The baseline is simpler than most people expect: an adult, 19 or older, may petition to adopt, and a married petitioner generally files jointly with their spouse unless the spouse is the child’s parent. Beyond that baseline, what applies to you depends on the type of adoption. Here is what courts and placing agencies actually look at.
Age and Capacity
You must be an adult, which in Alabama means at least 19 years old, and legally capable of taking on the obligations of a parent.
Married Couples File Together
A married person generally petitions jointly with their spouse. The main exception is the stepparent adoption, where the spouse is already the child’s legal parent.
Pre-Placement Investigation
Most minor adoptions require a home study by an approved investigator covering your home, background, and readiness. Courts can relax this in stepparent and close-relative adoptions.
Background Checks
Criminal history and child abuse registry screening are part of the process for adoptions involving a home study, and certain convictions are disqualifying.
Stability and Home Environment
The court’s question is always the best interests of the child: adequate housing, sufficient health, and the practical ability to raise this child.
Agency Placement Standards
Placing agencies, including DHR, apply their own criteria on top of the statute, such as marriage duration and residency standards. Those are placement policies, and they do not bar a stepparent or relative adoption.
Consent, Termination of Parental Rights, and Contested Adoptions
When Everyone Consents
Before a child can be adopted, the people the law says must consent have to consent, or the court has to find that their consent is not required. Sections 26-10E-7 through 26-10E-14 control who must consent, how consent is taken, and the narrow window in which it can be withdrawn. The formalities matter. A consent signed at the wrong time, without the required witnesses or notarization, or by someone without authority to give it, is a defect that can surface later.
When consents are properly in hand, the adoption is largely a matter of doing the paperwork right and moving the case through the probate court’s process. That is the posture most stepparent and relative adoptions are in, and it is why we can handle uncontested stepparent adoptions on a flat fee.
When a Parent Will Not Consent
Alabama law does not let one parent’s refusal automatically block an adoption. Under § 26-10E-10, consent is not required from a parent whose rights have already been terminated, and the code recognizes situations where consent is implied under § 26-10E-9, including a parent who abandons the child or who receives notice of the adoption and fails to respond within 30 days. An unmarried biological father who never registers with the Putative Father Registry under § 26-10C-1 can lose the right to contest at all.
A contested adoption is genuine litigation, with evidence, witnesses, and a judge deciding whether the legal grounds exist. These cases are won on preparation and proof, and they are exactly where you do not want to be self-represented.
Adoption, Guardianship, or Custody — Which One Does Your Situation Actually Need?
A fair number of the people who call us about adoption do not need an adoption. They need the right legal tool for a child they are raising, and adoption is the most permanent tool in the box. It is worth being clear-eyed about the differences before you file anything.
Adoption ends the biological parents’ rights forever and makes you the parent, full stop. A guardianship gives you legal authority over a child without terminating anyone’s parental rights, and it can end when circumstances change. A custody order allocates parenting rights between people who remain the child’s legal parents. Grandparents raising a grandchild, for example, sometimes want the permanence of adoption and sometimes only need a guardianship that lets them enroll the child in school and consent to medical care while a parent gets back on their feet.
How an Alabama Adoption Works — From Consultation to New Birth Certificate
The exact steps depend on the type of adoption, and a consented stepparent adoption skips several of them. This is the general path a minor adoption follows under the current code.
Consultation and Case Mapping
We identify the right type of adoption, figure out whose consent is required, and tell you whether your case looks consented or contested. Fees and a realistic timeline are quoted here, at the start.
Home Study, Where Required
Agency, foster care, and most non-relative adoptions require a pre-placement investigation by an approved investigator. Stepparent and close-relative adoptions often proceed with reduced or waived investigation requirements at the court’s discretion.
Consents or Termination of Parental Rights
We obtain properly executed consents from everyone the code requires, or we build the case that consent is implied or not required. This step is the legal foundation of the adoption, and we do it by the book.
Filing the Petition in Probate Court
We file the adoption petition with the correct probate court along with the consents, investigation report, and supporting documents. Accuracy here prevents the delays that plague do-it-yourself filings.
Notice and Any Contest
Required parties receive formal notice. If no one contests within the statutory window, the case stays on the consented track. If a parent contests, the court hears the dispute before the adoption can move forward.
Hearing and Final Decree
The probate judge reviews the file, takes testimony where needed, and decides whether the adoption serves the best interests of the child. The final decree of adoption is the order that makes it permanent.
New Birth Certificate and Records
After the decree, Alabama Vital Records issues a new birth certificate listing the adoptive parents. That document, with the decree, updates the child’s records everywhere from school to Social Security.
Adoption Fees at The Harris Firm LLC
We tell you the price before you hire us. What an adoption costs depends almost entirely on two things: the type of adoption and whether anyone contests it.
| Matter | Fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Adoption consultation | $100 | Phone or in person. Applied to your fee if you retain us. |
| Uncontested stepparent adoption | Flat fee | Quoted at your consultation based on the consent posture of your case. |
| Other consented adoptions | Quoted up front | Grandparent, relative, adult, and agency adoptions are priced by type and complexity. |
| Contested adoption / contested TPR | Hourly, against a retainer | Litigation over consent or termination is billed like other contested family law matters. |
| Court filing fees and costs | Varies by county | Probate filing fees, service costs, and any home study fee are separate and billed by the court or provider. |
Third-party costs are paid to the people who do the work, not to the firm: the probate court sets its filing fee, the investigator sets the home study fee, and international cases carry federal immigration filing fees on top. We identify every expected cost at the consultation so nothing surprises you mid-case.
Frequently Asked Questions About Adoption in Alabama
1.Which court handles adoptions in Alabama?
Adoptions are filed in Probate Court, not Circuit Court. The petition is generally filed in the county where the adoptive parents live, where the child lives, or where the agency with custody of the child is located. Contested matters can be transferred to juvenile court in some circumstances, but the probate court is where an Alabama adoption starts and where the final decree is entered.
2.Does a biological parent have to consent to an adoption in Alabama?
Usually, yes. But Alabama law recognizes important exceptions. Consent is not required from a parent whose rights have already been terminated, and consent can be implied when a parent abandons the child or receives notice of the adoption and fails to respond within 30 days. An unmarried biological father who never registers with the Putative Father Registry can lose the right to contest the adoption entirely. When a parent refuses to consent, the court decides whether the legal grounds exist to proceed without it.
3.How long does an adoption take in Alabama?
It depends on the type and on whether anyone contests. An uncontested stepparent adoption with all consents in hand can often be completed in a few months. Agency and foster care adoptions take longer because of home study requirements and court scheduling. International adoptions are the longest, often a year or more, because foreign courts and federal immigration are involved. A contested adoption takes as long as the litigation takes.
4.Do I need a home study for every type of adoption?
No. A pre-placement investigation is required for agency, foster care, and most non-relative adoptions. In stepparent and certain close-relative adoptions, the court can reduce or waive the investigation requirements, and many stepparent adoptions proceed without a full home study. The court always retains discretion to order one if it has concerns.
5.Can same-sex couples and single adults adopt in Alabama?
Yes. Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, married same-sex couples in Alabama adopt under the same rules as any other married couple. A single adult may also petition to adopt. What the court evaluates is the best interests of the child, not the family structure of the petitioner.
6.How much does an adoption cost in Alabama?
Attorney fees depend on the type of adoption and whether it is contested. We offer flat fees for uncontested stepparent adoptions and quote the fee at your consultation. Contested adoptions are billed hourly against a retainer. Separate from attorney fees, expect a probate court filing fee that varies by county, plus a home study fee when an investigation is required, and federal immigration filing fees in international cases. Adoption consultations are $100 by phone or in person.
Alabama Adoption Attorneys With Four Offices
We file adoptions in probate courts across Alabama from our offices in Birmingham, Chelsea, Huntsville, and Montgomery. Steven Harris owns the firm and appears on every matter, with David Miller, Paige Johnson, and Christopher Owens handling adoptions from the Birmingham and Chelsea offices, John Tyler Winans and Julia Collins in Montgomery, and LaTasha Huffman and Rebecca Lee in Huntsville.
Ready to Talk to an Alabama Adoption Attorney?
An adoption done right is one of the best days a family ever has in a courtroom. An adoption done sloppily is a problem that can follow the family for years. At The Harris Firm LLC, we handle stepparent, grandparent, agency, international, adult, and surrogacy-related adoptions across Alabama. Start with a consultation, and we will map out your path, your timeline, and your cost before you commit to anything.
What We Cover in Your Consultation
Call (205) 201-1789
Or Call the Office Nearest You
Speak directly with our team about any adoption matter.
Chelsea: (205) 677-5490
Huntsville: (256) 665-9473
Montgomery: (334) 782-9938
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