For many stepparents, adoption is the final legal step in a relationship that already exists. A stepparent may help raise a child, attend school events, provide financial and emotional support, and show up for doctor’s appointments and everyday life. Legally, though, the child may still have another parent whose rights must be addressed before the adoption can move forward.
That raises one of the most common questions in stepparent adoption cases: does the child’s other biological or legal parent have to agree to the adoption?
The short answer is: often yes, but not always.
Hawaiʻi law generally requires the consent of a child’s legal parents before an adoption can be granted. Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes §578-2, however, contains several important exceptions. Depending on the circumstances, the Family Court may permit a stepparent adoption even when the other parent refuses to consent.
Consent Is Usually the Starting Point
A stepparent adoption does far more than give a stepparent a new title. Once it is completed, the stepparent becomes the child’s legal parent, with the rights and responsibilities that come with parenthood. At the same time, the legal rights and duties of the parent being replaced generally come to an end. The legal relationship between the child and the spouse who is already the child’s parent remains intact.
Because an adoption can permanently affect an existing parent-child relationship, Hawaiʻi law ordinarily requires the appropriate parental consent. As of 2026, Hawaiʻi law also expressly requires a written consent to adoption to be notarized.
When everyone agrees, this can make a stepparent adoption relatively straightforward. The more difficult cases arise when the other parent cannot be found or refuses to sign a consent.
When Can an Adoption Proceed Without the Other Parent’s Consent?
Hawaiʻi law recognizes several situations in which a parent’s consent is not required, or may be dispensed with, by the Family Court. Depending on the circumstances, these can include a parent who:
- has failed to communicate with the child for at least one year, despite being able to do so;
- has failed for at least one year to provide for the child’s care and support despite being able to do so;
- has voluntarily surrendered the care and custody of the child to another for two years;
- meets certain circumstances involving desertion;
- has already had their parental rights judicially terminated;
- falls under certain circumstances involving the legal status of an unmarried biological parent; or
- is subject to the particular situations in which the court is authorized to dispense with the consent of an adjudicated, presumed, or concerned non-birthing parent.
Importantly, these are legal standards, not simply labels. Saying that a parent has “abandoned” a child or has “never really been involved” does not necessarily establish that consent is unnecessary. The court looks at the actual history of the parent’s relationship with the child.
What Does “Failure to Communicate” Mean?
One of the most common issues in a contested stepparent adoption is whether the other parent has maintained a meaningful relationship with the child.
HRS §578-2 provides that consent is not required from a parent of a child in the custody of another if, for at least one year, the parent has failed to communicate with the child when able to do so. That does not necessarily mean the parent must have exercised regular visitation.
The Hawaiʻi Supreme Court has explained that failure to communicate concerns whether a parent, although able to do so, failed to maintain contact providing an opportunity to demonstrate parental presence, concern, affection, and care. Even a single visit may constitute communication.
The facts matter. A parent who has truly had no contact with a child for years presents a very different situation from a parent who has had irregular visits, occasional phone calls, text messages, gifts, or other contact. It may also matter why contact did not occur. A parent who chose not to communicate is in a different position from a parent who can show that efforts at communication or visitation were prevented or significantly obstructed.
What About Failure to Pay Child Support?
Failure to provide financial support can also be important. Under Hawaiʻi law, consent is not required from a parent who, while able to provide for the child, has failed to do so for at least one year.
But again, the words “when able to do so” matter. The question is not simply whether the parent owes child support or has fallen behind on payments. The court may need to consider the parent’s ability to provide support, what support was actually provided, and the circumstances surrounding any failure to do so. Hawaiʻi case law has recognized that “support” in this context refers to financial support.
For that reason, payment records, child support orders, bank records, correspondence between the parents, and other evidence can become important in a contested adoption.
Hawaiʻi Has a Specific Stepparent Provision
Hawaiʻi law includes another provision that is particularly important in stepparent cases. For certain categories of non-birthing parents — specifically an adjudicated, presumed, or concerned non-birthing parent — the Family Court may dispense with that parent’s consent when the person seeking to adopt is married to the child’s birthing parent and the child has lived with the birthing parent and stepparent for at least one year. HRS §578-2(c)(2)(A).
The word “may” is important. Meeting the one-year requirement does not mean an adoption is automatically granted. The other parent’s precise legal status also matters, because the statute distinguishes among legal, adjudicated, presumed, and concerned parents. Determining which category applies can be one of the most important legal questions in the case.
And regardless of the consent issue, the Family Court must ultimately be satisfied that the proposed adoption meets Hawaiʻi’s legal requirements and is in the child’s best interests.
What If the Other Parent Cannot Be Found?
Sometimes the problem is not that the other parent has refused to consent — the family simply does not know where that parent is. An absent or unlocatable parent cannot simply be ignored.
Hawaiʻi law provides procedures for giving notice to a nonresident or unlocated parent. When a parent cannot be located after appropriate efforts, the Family Court can authorize alternative forms of service, which may include service by publication.
This is different from saying that an unlocated parent automatically loses the right to consent. The petition still needs to establish a legal basis for proceeding with the adoption, and the required procedures for notice must be followed.
What Happens If the Other Parent Objects?
If the other parent objects and their consent is disputed, the adoption becomes a non-consent, or contested, adoption. The Family Court may need to hear evidence concerning the history of the family, including the other parent’s contact with the child, visitation, financial support, efforts to remain involved, and the relationship between the child and the proposed adoptive stepparent.
A parent whose consent is alleged to be unnecessary under many of the statutory exceptions is still entitled to notice of the allegations and the adoption hearing.
The ultimate question is not simply whether one parent wants the adoption and the other does not. The court must determine whether Hawaiʻi’s statutory requirements have been satisfied and whether the adoption is in the child’s best interests.
Does the Child Have to Consent?
The child’s wishes can also matter. Under HRS §578-2, a child more than ten years old generally must consent to the adoption, unless the Family Court determines that dispensing with the child’s consent is in the child’s best interests.
In many stepparent adoptions involving older children, the child’s desire to be adopted is an important part of the family’s decision to move forward.
What Does the Adoption Do to the Other Parent’s Rights?
This is an important point for families to understand before filing. A completed stepparent adoption generally replaces one legal parent with the adopting stepparent. The stepparent becomes a legal parent, while the parental rights and duties of the former legal parent generally cease. The relationship between the child and the parent who is married to the adopting stepparent continues.
A stepparent adoption is therefore very different from obtaining custody or adding a stepparent as another authorized caregiver — it creates a permanent legal parent-child relationship.
Every Consent Case Is Different
Two families can appear similar on the surface and still have very different legal outcomes. A parent who has been absent for several years and provided no financial support may present a relatively strong non-consent case. Another parent may have been inconsistent but still maintained enough contact or support that the legal analysis becomes considerably more complicated.
Likewise, an old custody order, a parentage judgment, the child’s birth certificate, or the circumstances surrounding the child’s birth may affect exactly what type of parental status the other parent has under Hawaiʻi’s adoption statutes.
For these reasons, it is helpful to evaluate the consent issue before filing the adoption petition. Doing so can identify whether the adoption is likely to proceed by agreement or whether evidence will be needed to ask the Family Court to proceed without the other parent’s consent.
Considering a Stepparent Adoption in Hawaiʻi?
Stepparent adoption can give legal permanence to a parent-child relationship that may already be an important part of everyday family life. When the other parent agrees, the process is often relatively straightforward. When that parent does not consent, or cannot be located, the case requires a closer examination of Hawaiʻi law and the family’s history.
At Doi/Luke, Attorneys at Law, we assist families with both consent and non-consent stepparent adoptions throughout Hawaiʻi. We can help determine what consents are required, address notice and service issues, prepare the necessary Family Court documents, and represent families through the adoption hearing.
If you are considering adopting your spouse’s child, contact us to discuss your family’s circumstances and the steps involved in a Hawaiʻi stepparent adoption.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the other biological parent simply refuse a stepparent adoption?
A parent can object, but an objection does not necessarily prevent the adoption. Hawaiʻi law allows an adoption to proceed without a parent’s consent in certain circumstances.
Is one year without contact enough?
Potentially. HRS §578-2 specifically addresses a parent’s failure to communicate for at least one year when the parent was able to do so. Whether the requirement has been established depends on the facts.
Is one year without child support enough?
Potentially, if the parent failed to provide care and support for at least one year while able to do so. Simply having child-support arrears does not necessarily answer the question.
Can we adopt if we do not know where the other parent lives?
Possibly. Hawaiʻi law provides procedures for serving an unlocated parent, including court-authorized publication in appropriate cases. The inability to locate the parent does not eliminate the need to follow the proper legal procedures.
Does the stepparent have to have lived with the child?
That fact can be particularly important. One provision of HRS §578-2 allows the court, in specified circumstances, to dispense with the consent of certain non-birthing parents when the child has lived with the birthing parent and adopting spouse for at least one year.
