An adult adoption petition is a court filing in which one adult asks a judge to legally adopt another adult, creating a permanent parent-child relationship between them. It is a joint request: both people sign, both consent, and both appear at a short hearing. There is no home study, no social worker, and no child welfare agency involvement. Most cases move from filing to signed decree within a few weeks to a few months, depending on the court’s calendar.
Who Can File
Any adult can petition to adopt another adult, but the petitioner generally has to be older than the person being adopted. A handful of states set a specific minimum gap — 10 years in some, 15 in others — while the rest simply require the petitioner to be the elder of the two. There is no upper age limit for either party, and neither needs to be a U.S. citizen to file in state court.
The relationship between the two adults matters in some jurisdictions. Stepparent adoptions of adult stepchildren are among the most common filings and face few hurdles. Courts have also approved petitions that formalize long-standing foster, mentorship, or close family-friend bonds. A few states prohibit adoption between two people in a sexual or romantic relationship, on the reasoning that such a relationship is incompatible with a parent-child bond. Even without an explicit statutory bar, a judge who suspects the petition is being used to get around another area of law — immigration rules, for instance, or inheritance restrictions — can deny it.
Consent
Adult adoption rests on mutual agreement. The adoptee must give explicit written consent. That’s the core difference from adopting a minor, where the court acts in the child’s best interest regardless of the child’s own preference. Because the adoptee is a legal adult, the adoptee’s biological parents do not need to consent and are not notified as a matter of right.
Spouses are a different story. If the adoptee is married, the adoptee’s spouse must provide written consent. Some states impose the same requirement on the petitioner’s spouse when the petitioner is married. Consent forms usually have to be signed in front of a notary. Miss a required consent and the court will not proceed.
What Goes in the Petition
The central document is the Petition for Adult Adoption, typically a court-approved form from the clerk’s office or the court’s website. Some courts call it a Joint Petition because both parties sign it together. You will need the following for both the petitioner and the adoptee:
- Full legal names and any prior names used
- Current addresses and county of residence
- Dates and places of birth
- Marital status and spouse’s name if applicable
The form asks for a brief statement of why you are seeking the adoption. Courts don’t demand an elaborate justification. A straightforward explanation — formalizing a long-standing parent-child relationship, securing inheritance rights, honoring a family bond — tells the judge what the petition is for. If you want the adoptee’s name changed, put that request in the petition itself; most courts handle both matters in the same proceeding rather than making you file separately.
Supporting documents vary by court but commonly include a certified copy of the adoptee’s birth certificate, signed consent forms from both parties and any required spouses, and the filing fee. Some courts also require a separate Adoption Agreement, a short document in which both parties affirm they intend to create a legal parent-child relationship. Check your local court’s checklist before filing. A missing form can push your hearing back by weeks.
Background Checks
Some states require a criminal background check for the petitioner, though the requirement is less universal than in child adoption. Where required, the petitioner submits fingerprints that are run through the state criminal database and the FBI’s national database. Fees are modest, typically in the range of $22 to $24 per agency per person under recent schedules, and results usually must be dated within 12 months of filing.
A criminal record does not automatically disqualify a petitioner. Judges look at the nature and recency of any convictions; a decades-old misdemeanor is treated differently from a recent violent or fraud offense. If your jurisdiction requires a check, build in extra time. Processing can take several weeks, and the court generally won’t set a hearing until results are back.
Filing and the Hearing
File the complete package — petition, consent forms, supporting documents, and any required background check results — with the clerk of the court in the county where either the petitioner or the adoptee lives. Filing fees vary widely by jurisdiction, with most falling somewhere between $100 and $350. If you can’t afford the fee, ask the clerk about a fee waiver; courts routinely grant them for petitioners who meet income guidelines.
You don’t need a lawyer. Many people file adult adoption petitions pro se because the process is more straightforward than most family law matters. An attorney familiar with your local court can catch errors that would otherwise delay the hearing, and legal help becomes more valuable if complications appear, such as an objecting spouse or questions about the petition’s purpose.
After filing, the court schedules a hearing. In some courts the clerk sets the date automatically; in others you have to call or submit a request. Both the petitioner and the adoptee must attend. The judge reviews the paperwork, confirms the adoptee’s consent is voluntary, and may ask a few questions about the relationship and the reason for the adoption. Most hearings last less than 15 minutes. If everything checks out, the judge signs the Order of Adoption on the spot or shortly afterward.
What the Decree Actually Does
Once the judge signs, the adopted adult becomes the legal child of the adoptive parent for all purposes. It carries the same legal weight as a birth relationship.
Inheritance
The most significant practical effect is on inheritance. The adopted adult gains the full right to inherit from the adoptive parent under intestacy laws, which means they inherit automatically if the parent dies without a will, just as a biological child would. The adoptive parent also gains the right to inherit from the adopted adult.
In most states, the legal relationship with the adoptee’s biological parents is severed for inheritance purposes. The adoptee loses the automatic right to inherit from biological parents and vice versa, though a biological parent can still leave property to the adoptee through a will. Stepparent adoption is the important exception: when one biological parent’s spouse adopts the adult, the inheritance relationship with that biological parent typically stays intact. If preserving inheritance from biological family matters to you, talk it through with an attorney before filing.
Amended Birth Certificate and Name Change
The final decree entitles the adoptee to request an amended birth certificate from the vital records office in the state where they were born. The amended certificate lists the adoptive parent’s name in place of the biological parent’s. To get one, send a certified copy of the decree with the application and fee to the appropriate vital records office. Processing times and fees vary by state.
If the petition included a name change and the judge approved it, the decree itself is the legal authority for the new name. Use a certified copy to update your Social Security card, driver’s license, passport, and other identification.
Health Insurance
Under the Affordable Care Act, employer-sponsored and individual health plans that offer dependent coverage must extend it to children through age 25, regardless of the child’s marital status, student enrollment, financial dependency, or residency. An adopted child qualifies the same as a biological child.1U.S. Department of Labor. Young Adults and the Affordable Care Act: Protecting Young Adults and Eliminating Burdens on Businesses and Families FAQs If the adoptee is under 26 at the time of adoption, they can be added at the next enrollment period. For adoptees 26 or older, adoption alone does not create eligibility through a parent’s plan.
What Adult Adoption Will Not Do
Adult adoption does not create immigration or citizenship benefits. Federal immigration law defines a “child” as someone under 18 and unmarried, and adoption-based visa categories generally require the adoption to have been finalized before age 16.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Definition of Child and Residence for Citizenship and Naturalization The Child Citizenship Act of 2000 similarly limits automatic citizenship acquisition to adopted children who meet its requirements before age 18.3U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Adult Adoptees and U.S. Citizenship Adopting a foreign-born adult does not let you sponsor them for a green card, and filing an adult adoption petition to work around immigration rules can draw scrutiny from both the court and USCIS.
Reversal is possible but difficult by design. Undoing an adoption requires a separate petition to annul or vacate the decree, and courts are reluctant to grant one, especially after inheritance rights or other legal benefits have been exercised. When both parties agree, reversal is more likely; when one party contests it, the climb is much steeper. It is far easier to decide against filing the original petition than to unwind a completed adoption.
Tax Notes
The adoption itself doesn’t trigger any immediate tax consequence. Neither party owes tax simply because the decree was signed. The new relationship can affect future tax planning, though.
An adoptive parent can claim the adult adoptee as a “qualifying relative” dependent if the adoptee has gross income below the IRS threshold (currently $5,050), receives more than half of their support from the parent, and meets the other standard requirements.4Internal Revenue Service. Dependents Most working adults won’t meet the income test, but it can matter for adoptees who are disabled, elderly, or not employed.
For estate planning, transfers at death pass under the same rules that apply to biological children. The federal estate tax exemption for 2026 is $15,000,000 per person, so estates below that threshold pass to heirs, including adopted children, free of federal estate tax.5Internal Revenue Service. What’s New – Estate and Gift Tax The 2026 annual gift tax exclusion is $19,000 per recipient, so an adoptive parent can give the adoptee up to that amount each year without filing a gift tax return. These rules apply whether the parent-child relationship was established by birth or by adoption.