What Is Adult Adoption?

While the majority of adoptions involve minors, it is also possible to legally adopt an adult into your family. Doing so has a number of benefits. It is, for instance, a good way to include someone as an heir, or ensure that the adoptee can make decisions on the parent’s behalf in the event of a serious illness or injury. To learn more about this process, feel free to reach out to our legal team today.

Adult Adoption

There are a lot of reasons why a family could choose to engage in the adult adoption process. The adult adoptee may, for instance, be the child of a parent’s deceased spouse, a stepchild, or even the child of a close friend or distant relative. In these cases, adoptive parents may want to formalize their relationship with the adult not only for personal reasons, but also for inheritance or medical decision-making purposes, as the adoptee could then be considered a legal heir or be granted the right to make decisions in the event of the adopter’s medical emergency.

The Adult Adoption Process

The requirements for an adult adoption are a bit different than those for the adoption of a child. Generally, the process is much less rigorous because the adoptee is an adult and so can fully consent to the proceedings. When pursuing an adult adoption a person will need to fill out a petition for the court, which the adoptive parents and the adoptee will need to sign. After submitting various documents and forms to the court, the parties will need to appear at a hearing before a judge, who will make the final determination. It also isn’t necessary for the adoptive parents to terminate the parental rights of the adoptee’s biological parents in a separate proceeding, as the final judgment of adoption in these cases will both grant the adoption and terminate the other parents’ parental rights.

The Benefits of Adoption

As an adopted adult, a person can reap many of the benefits that they would have had if they had been the parent’s biological child. Besides the legal recognition and emotional confirmation that comes with adoption, for instance, they can also legally change their name if they choose. The adoption process can also give the adoptive parents peace of mind about inheritance-related and power of attorney issues in the event of their death or incapacitation. Adult adoptions are also a good way to ensure that an adult relative who has special needs or medical issues will receive the care that he or she needs. A family may, for instance, need to adopt a disabled adult relative for their insurance to cover the cost of that person’s care.

Here to Help with Your Family Law Questions

While adopting an adult is generally an easier process than adopting a minor, complications can still arise, in which case, it’s a good idea to have an experienced attorney on your side who can walk you through the proceedings. If you are navigating the adoption process, call dedicated Florida stepparent adoption lawyer Sandra Bonfiglio, P.A. at 954-945-7591 today or set up a free consultation by filling out one of our online forms.

Sources:

flcourts.org/content/download/403297/file/981c1.pdf

leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0000-0099/0063/Sections/0063.102.html