He has raised her since she was 2 years old.
Vincent VonTobel was overcome with emotion as his 17-year-old stepdaughter asked him to be her official dad in a touching moment captured on video.
VonTobel has been helping raise Farah Leonard since she was 2 years old and she was ready to finally make it official.
"He has been fantastic to her — he never treated her as a step child," Farah’s mom, Jessica VonTobel, told InsideEdition.com. "Then he proposed to me. He said he loved us so much and he wanted to marry me and take care of us forever. She was the flower girl at our wedding."
Vincent had been thinking about asking Farah to adopt her but he and Farah’s mom decided it would be best to let the teen decide for herself.
As Vincent’s 39th birthday approached, Farah told her mom that she wanted to get her soon-to-be dad a pen with his name engraved as well as an attorney to help with the adoption process.
On his birthday, Farah, who never met her biological father, handed the adoption papers to her unsuspecting stepdad.
When he opened the box the papers were enclosed in, his answer was already clear.
"He is honestly pretty strong both physically and emotionally. I didn’t realize until he broke how significant and important it was to him," Jessica said. "It was like everything in our family was complete."
"There is no one else that I would rather have as my dad," Farah says in the video shared by Caters News.
The family has now filed the adoption papers and expects the process to be completed in the next month.
"I knew it was something Vince had always wanted because he has done a lot to make sure he gets everything done on his end as quickly as possible," Jessica said.
Read: Couple Has 3 Sets of Twins All Born On The Same Day: 'What Are the Odds?'
Vincent and Jessica also have an adopted son, 5, and an 11-year-old daughter together. Vincent himself is adopted as well.
"I really do hope that it inspires people to become aware of adoption," Jessica said.
Watch: 5-Year-Old Girl Gets Surprised By Disney Princesses At Adoption Court Hearing
