In the Matter of the Adoption of Hannah L., a Minor

Summary

The Alaska Supreme Court affirmed the superior court’s denial of a stepfather’s petition to adopt his wife’s daughter, holding that the adoption was not in the child’s best interests and that a waiver of the biological father’s consent was unnecessary when the best‑interests prong fails. The Court also held that the superior court did not err by issuing a delayed reconsideration order and that the statutory child‑custody factors are not mandatory in adoption best‑interests analyses.