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Watson Legal Services

ADOPTION: ADULT
There's no age limit on becoming a family

Some bonds do not need paperwork to be real, but making them official still matters. It brings security. It settles questions of inheritance and next of kin decisions. Sometimes it simply means that the person who raised you, or the person you raised, finally carries that name in the eyes of the law. 

Adult adoption is one of the quietest and most meaningful matters I handle, and it is often simpler than people expect. 
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Who adult adoption is for:

People come to adult adoption from very different places, though the thread is always the same: a relationship that has been real for years, finally recognized in law. 


Sometimes it is a stepparent or the parent who raised you, formalizing a bond that time never made official. Sometimes it is a foster or kinship relationship that could not be completed before the child turned 18, finished at last. In other cases, it is a family caring for an adult son or daughter with an intellectual or developmental disability, who want their legal relationship to match the one they have always lived. 

What people are often surprised to learn:

  • That there is no home study and no involvement from birth parents; it truly is about the two of you. 
  • That there is still real diligence behind it, with background and lien checks, because the court takes adult adoption seriously.
  • That once it is done, it is permanent and full, including inheritance and next of kin recognition. 
None of this is widely known, and there is no reason you would have come in knowing it. Most attorneys came to this work through law firms. I came through a career spent advocating for people with disabilities and others the system overlooked, which is part of why this work means something to me. When you are ready, let's make it official. 

What the process actually looks like

Here is the path. It is more involved than people assume, though far simpler than a contested case. Because the person being adopted is an adult, their birth parents' rights are not part of it. The consent that matters is the adult adoptee's and yours. Pennsylvania asks for real diligence first, largely to confirm that no one is using adoption to get around the law. The adoptee completes a criminal background check, and we run lien searches in every county where they have lived over the past five years. The court reviews the petition closely to confirm it has what is required. I handle all of that, so it does not become your burden. 
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​Once the groundwork is done, we file the petition and attend the hearing. Even a straightforward adult adoption is a real proceeding, not a formality. As your attorney, I present the petition and question both of you on the record so the court can confirm this is truly what you both want. The judge generally renders a decision the same day, and the adoption is complete. A new birth certificate follows, and in the eyes of the law you are parent and child, permanent and complete. Most of my clients are surprised how straightforward it is. 
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My job is to make it feel as meaningful as it is, and as simple as it should be.