Adult Adoptions: Everything you Wanted to Know

An adult adoption is an adoption of a child over the age of 18 years old. Why would you do an adult adoption? For the person being adopted it is usually for inheritance rights and to recognize the person in their life who may have acted as their parent but who hasn’t been legally recognized as same.

Adult adoptions are less complicated and less expensive than adoptions of children under the age of 18. First, in adult adoptions, the biological parent is not required to be notified of the hearing. The biological parent also does not need to consent, and the adopting parents do not have to prove abandonment by the biological parent. A Guardian ad Litem is also not required which makes adult adoptions faster and cheaper to conclude. Finally, criminal background checks are not required.

What must happen? The adult being adopted must state under oath in writing that they are not under the influence of alcohol or drugs, that they want the adoption to go through, that they have had time to think about it, and that they have not been pressured to do it by anyone. They also cannot be paid any money to be adopted by someone else.

Once the adoption is signed then the adult child’s birth certificate can be amended. We often help clients with amending the birth certificate. A name change can also be granted as part of the adult adoption. For more information regarding this process in Missouri please give us a call today.