What Is an Adult Adoption?
An adult adoption in Florida is a legal process where one adult adopts another adult, with the consent of both parties. This process creates a legal parent-child relationship between the adopter (called the petitioner) and the adult being adopted (the adult adoptee).
How Adult Adoption Works
- File a Petition – Start by filing a formal petition for adoption in the county where you live or where your attorney is located.
- Notify Existing Parents – The biological parents must be notified of the adoption.
- Attend the Final Hearing – Both parties appear in court for the judge to finalize the adoption.
- Obtain an Amended Birth Certificate – After the adoption, you can apply for a new birth certificate reflecting the legal parent-child relationship.
Key Effects of Adult Adoption
- The legal relationship with the biological parents is terminated.
- The Petitioner becomes the legal parent of the adult adoptee.
Adult adoption is common in Florida and is often used to formalize relationships, such as step-parent and step-child bonds, or to secure inheritance rights.
We help families throughout Florida.
We handle the entire adoption process from start to finish. Our services start with a free phone or Zoom consultation.
Who Can Be Adopted as an Adult in Florida?
In Florida, any person over 18 years old can be adopted as long as they consent to the adoption.
Florida law does not impose an upper age limit or other specific requirements for the adoption. The person adopting the adult can be either single or married. However, if the adopter is married, their spouse must provide consent to the adoption.
Why Pursue an Adult Adoption
Most often, an adult adoption legalizes a parent-child relationship that already exists. For example, an adult adoptee may have grown up with the Petitioner acting as if they were the adoptee’s parent, even if they were not legally. Often this is a stepparent that did not complete a stepparent adoption while the adoptee was a minor.
An adult adoption, therefore, is a way to legally formalize a parent-child for the remainder of their lives.
Tip: The most common type of adult adoption I see in my practice is a stepparent adoption of adult stepchildren.
Requirements for Adult Adoption
In Florida, the requirements for adult adoption are established by Chapter 63 of Florida law. Under the law, an adult adoption requires:
- The adult adoptee’s spouse, if married, must sign a consent to the adoption.
- Written notice of the final hearing must be served onto the existing parents.
- The adult adoption case must be filed in the county where the adopting parent lives or in the county where the attorney handling the adoption is located.
- The petition for adult adoption must include a statement for why the petitioner wishes to adopt the adult.
- The adult adoptee must sign a consent to the adoption.
Neither the petitioner nor the adult adoptee must reside in Florida for any set length of time. Florida law previously required the adoptee to have lived in Florida for six months, but that requirement was repealed.
The existing parents do not need to consent to the adoption. However, they are legally entitled to be notified about the adoption hearing.
Steps to the Adult Adoption Process
There are five steps to an adult adoption in Florida:
- File the petition.
- Schedule the hearing with the judge.
- Serve notice of the hearing.
- Attend the final hearing.
- Amend the birth certificate
1. File the Petition
A petition to adopt an adult begins the legal process. The petition is filed in the court where the petitioner resides, or in the court where the adoption attorney is located. The petition must include all attachments required by Florida law.
The county will charge a filing fee to open the adoption court file.
2. Schedule the Hearing
Once the petition for adult adoption is filed, the county clerk will assign the file to one of the judges handling domestic relations cases. The judge assignment is random.
Each judge maintains their own scheduling procedures and calendar. You and your attorney will pick one of the available hearings dates for the final hearing of adoption.
After the hearing time is secured, your attorney should file and give you a copy of a Notice of Hearing.
3. Serve Notice of the Adult Adoption
Florida law requires that notice of the adoption hearing be served onto the adult adoptee’s existing parents. You do not need to obtain the consent of the existing parents to complete the adult adoption.
Service of the notice of hearing must be done formally. A process server, or sheriff’s deputy, must hand the notice in person to the existing parents. Alternatively, the server can give the notice to someone who resides with the existing parents.
If you do not know the location of the existing parents, then constructive service is allowed. This means that the notice of hearing will be published in a court-approved newspaper.
4. Conduct the Final Hearing
Most judges conduct the final adoption hearing virtually by Zoom or Microsoft Teams. That means both the adopting petitioner and the adult adoptee can attend the hearing from your home.
Most hearings take 5-10 minutes. Much of the legal work has already been done in preparation for the hearing day. Your attorney will ask the adopting petitioners and the adult adoptee a series of simple questions during the hearing. Primarily, the judge wants to make sure that everyone understands the legal ramifications to the adoption and wants to go forward with it.
After the hearing, the judge will enter the Final Judgment of Adult Adoption, which formalizes the parent-child relationship.
5. Amend the Birth Certificate
Once the legal process is complete, your attorney can help you apply for an amended birth certificate. The amended birth certificate will list the Petitioner as the parent.
If the adult adoptee had their name changed through the adoption, then the amended birth certificate will reflect the change of name.
Benefits of Adult Adoption
In Florida, an adult adoption formalizes the parental-child relationship between two adults. The benefits to adult adoption include:
- The ability for the adult adoptee to inherit from the parent.
- The ability to take on the adopting parent’s last name.
- Being able to identify as family in hospital or other emergency situations.
- In some situations, formally terminating the parental status of a toxic parent-child relationship.
- Becoming legally part of the family.
Adult Adoption FAQs
Here are some frequently asked questions about adult adoption in Florida.
How much does it cost to adopt someone over 18?
An adult adoption costs around $3,500, which includes a legal fee, the court costs, the filing fee, and the birth certificate amendment fee. Doing the adoption yourself would save you the legal fee, but you would need to strictly comply with Florida adoption law.
Can you adopt someone over 18?
Yes, in Florida, any adult who is 18 or old can be adopted by another adult as long as the adoptee agrees to the adoption. Both the adopting adult’s spouse and the adult adoptee must consent to the adoption. The adult adoptee’s existing parents do not need to consent.
Is there an age limit to adopt in Florida?
There is no age limit to adopt in Florida. Any single person, or jointly married couple, can adopt another person in Florida. They do not have to be a certain age.
About the Author
Gideon is an adoption attorney who helps clients throughout Florida with stepparent, relative, and adult adoptions. He graduated with honors from Emory University Law School and has practiced law for almost 15 years.
Gideon and the Alper Law firm focus on helping families where there is already a connection between the adoptee and the adoptive parent.