Hello, I was hoping someone could point me in the right direction. Is it possible for an unmarried couple to jointly adopt a child at the same time in Ohio. All my research seem to point at information regarding same sex adoption and second parent adoption, but neither fit in this case. I'm simply looking to see if Ohio allows (or has ever allowed) an unmarried heterosexual couple to jointly adopt a child and thus both would be the parents of record.

I'm writing a report for school on this topic and currently the best I can see is that the Ohio statutes allow for adoption when in the best interest of the child. If there is a case where a child is in need of parents, would Ohio then allow an unmarried couple to jointly adopt because it is in the best interest of the child? Are there any court cases touching on such a topic?

Thank you very much

According to the Ohio Revised Code:

Who May Adopt
Citation: Rev. Code ? 3107.03
The following persons may adopt:

A husband and wife together, at least one of whom is an adult
An unmarried adult or a married person singly if legally separated
The unmarried minor parent of the person to be adopted
A stepparent



If a person can adopt a child as a single person (unmarried adult), then two single persons should be allowed to jointly file for adoption provided they (due to other restrictions in the Ohio Revised Code) are male and female.

For your research here is the link for the Ohio Revised Code: http://onlinedocs.andersonpublishing.com/oh/lpExt.dll?f=templates&fn=main-h.htm&cp=PORC