Stepparent and Grandparent Adoption in Texas — Dallas County Guide

Who can adopt in Texas — the eligibility basics

Under Texas Family Code §162.001, an adult may petition to adopt a child if the child has lived with the petitioner for a required period and other statutory conditions are met. Stepparents are exempt from many of the residency and home-study requirements that apply to unrelated adopters (§162.0025).

Grandparents may also adopt in appropriate cases — most commonly when a parent has died, is incarcerated, or has had their rights terminated under Chapter 161. A grandparent adoption can also arise out of a §153.433 grandparent-access case that escalates because of parental incapacity or safety concerns.

Terminating the other parent's rights (Chapter 161)

You cannot adopt someone else's child in Texas unless that biological parent either consents in writing (§161.103, Affidavit of Voluntary Relinquishment) or has their rights terminated involuntarily under §161.001. Common grounds include abandonment for six months without support, endangering conduct, failure to comply with a court-ordered service plan, or criminal conviction for certain offenses.

The court must also find that termination is in the child's best interest — the Holley factors apply here as they do in custody cases. When both bio-parents' rights are terminated (e.g., in an emergency conservatorship case), the child becomes eligible for adoption by the petitioning grandparent, aunt, foster parent, or approved third party.

The Dallas County adoption process, step by step

Step 1: file the Original Petition for Adoption in the Dallas County family district court, together with the termination petition if the biological parent has not signed a §161.103 affidavit. Filing fees run about $315-$350 with the District Clerk.

Step 2: complete the home study (waived for most stepparent adoptions but not for grandparent or unrelated adoptions) and the criminal background check required by §162.0085.

Step 3: attend the final adoption hearing. In Dallas County these are typically held in front of the assigned family district judge on National Adoption Day (November) or on a special docket. The judge signs the Decree of Adoption and issues a new birth certificate through the Texas Vital Statistics Unit.

Bilingual adoptions and the Mexican Consulate

For adopting families with ties to Mexico, Isabela Garcia coordinates apostilled Mexican birth certificates, translation certification, and — where the child is a Mexican national — notification of the Mexican Consulate under the Vienna Convention. Our bilingual case managers walk you through every step in English or Spanish.