Did you know that it is legal in all 50 U.S. states for one adult to adopt another? I didn’t! The most common reasons given for adults legally adopting other adults are: to make official a long-standing parent-child relationship, and/or to ensure that the adults involved will inherit from each other. (The state of Illinois specifically notes that an adopted person does not inherit from the adoptive parents if he/she was over 18 when adopted and had never resided with the adoptive parents before turning 18. This refers to adoptive parents who die without a will; of course adoptive parents may specifically name their adult adopted son or daughter in their will and bequeath to him or her whatever they choose.)
State laws regarding the adoption of adults vary in the details. In many cases, the adopting party must be older than the person adopted. In New York in 1984, one adoption petition where the adopter was a peer of the prospective adoptee was denied based on “lack of a genuine parent-child relationship”.
Adult adoption usually does not involve a homestudy since the prospective adoptee is not a minor and presumably does not need the protection of a social worker and the courts, however some states may require a social worker report for all adoptions. In some states notice to the birthparents may be required. If the prospective adoptee is married, his or her spouse is required to consent in some states.
Most states stipulate that adoption of adults is legal as long as no fraud is intended. I assume this is to prevent a situation where a caregiver or other person persuades an older person to adopt them so that they can control their financial affairs and gain their inheritance. This potential is one reason why, in my opinion, adult adoption should be entered into with caution. Parties should also consider whether, if they have other children, adopting another adult as their son or daughter will create dissension or resentment in the family.
In some situations, I can see adoption of adults as being especially advantageous. One would include cases where a teen-ager’s longtime foster parents refrain from adopting because the minor is not legally free for adoption or because they need the stipend or the medical care which the state provides for foster children. The family may consider this their child, and if this is the only reason why they have not adopted, that reason ceases when the teen ages out of the foster care system at age 18.
Another situation would be where there is a familial relationship between an older person without children or a younger person without parents. Formalizing a long-standing relationship may bring both parties great joy.
The other situation I can think of is that of a family I read of recently. An older couple cares for their mentally disabled son. They have a family friend who has known the son since they were both children and has assumed a sister and daughter-type relationship with the family. By adopting this young woman, the couple can formalize the family relationship, enabling her to make decisions about the disabled adult’s care when his parents are no longer around. (They could also do this through appointing her as a guardian. However, in this case the family feels the sibling relationship will bring great comfort to both of the adult children, who have no other siblings, in that they will still have a family member living).