I'm 13 turning 14, I want to be adopted into another family. What are my steps?

The background facts that you have not provided can be critically important and can make a big difference. As a threshold matter, you must have another adult or family which wants to adopt you. That family must be suitable, and the judge will scrutinize the family to make sure that they can do this. This process will include interviews with social workers and the like. For the adoption to happen, the family wishing to adopt you would file a petition for adoption with the Family Division of the Superior Court. Because you will be 14 years of age, you will have to agree with the adoption. But for the family to adopt you, the court will have to terminate your natural parents' parental rights, and they will have the opportunity to object. So the facts involved here, which I don't know, may be significant. Another option is to consider seeking emancipation. As a 14 year old, though, it seems highly unlikely that the court would grant your petition for emancipation. And if there are factors which suggest that emancipation is proper, such as abuse or neglect by your parents, the court likely would get Child & Family Services involved pretty quickly. I do not know that I have fully answered your question, but I think if you can provide more information we may be able to do a better job. In any event, I think you will definitely need some further assistance from a lawyer and it may make sense to discuss these things with the guidance counselor at your school. Micah Salb Lippman, Semsker & Salb