Adopting a Child in Massachusetts

A person of full age may petition the probate court in the county where he or she lives to adopt a person younger than himself or herself (other than a spouse); a nonresident may petition in the county where the child lives. A married petitioner's spouse must join unless excused (for example, by prolonged absence, legal separation or incapacity) and the adoption is in the child's best interest. Written consent is required from a child over 12, the child's spouse, and the lawful parents (or the mother alone if the child was born outside marriage and no father is legally established); a parent's consent may be signed no sooner than the fourth day after birth and is final and irrevocable. For a child under 14, the Department of Children and Families investigates whether the child and the petitioners' home are suitable and reports to the court within 30 days. The court may dispense with consent when that is in the child's best interest under the statutory fitness factors.

A stepparent adopts through the same probate court petition; a minor may petition, or join a spouse's petition, to adopt the natural child of one of them. The court may waive the Department of Children and Families investigation and report when the petition is to adopt the child of one of the petitioners. The other legal parent's written consent is required unless the court dispenses with it because adoption without consent is in the child's best interest, considering factors such as abandonment, willful failure to visit or support, and parental unfitness.