ADULT ADOPTION IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY - HOW TO ADOPT AN ADULT
Adult adoption is the adoption of a person 18 years of age or older, by another adult who is older than the person being adopted. There is no required number of years to be older. All adoptions in Los Angeles County are handled by the Edward Edelman Children's Court in Monterey Park, including adult adoptions.
This page is all about adult adoption in Los Angeles County, a practical step-by-step review for you. (I also work in surrounding counties.) So let's get started...
Why do people do adult adoptions?
Adult adoptions are popular for two reasons. Perhaps the most cited reason is emotional. Many people are tired of saying they are "like parent and child." They want to actually be parent and child. Adult adoption creates the exact same relationship as if by birth, with the same benefits and responsibilities.
The second reason is usually legal considerations. For example, estate documents like wills and trusts will be more secure when property is passing from parent to child. There might also be health insurance benefits that flow to a child but not a stepchild or non-relative.
Is a home study required?
No, unlike the adoption of minors, there is no home study required in the adoption of adults. (Technically, the court has the discretion to require an investigation, but this is almost unheard of.) The fact there is no home study is doubly beneficial: 1) you don't have to pay for a home study; and 2) there is no delay while we wait for a home study to be completed. You go straight from your attorney's preparation and filing of your legal documents to requesting your finalization hearing date.
Is parental consent required?
No, in the adoption of minors, parental consent is a key requirement. For adult adoption, however, there is not only no requirement to get parental consent, there is also no requirement to even give notice to existing parents. This is completely left up to the adoptee and adopting parents if they wish to do so.
One type of consent which is required in the adoption of adults is spousal consent. If either the adopting parent(s) or the adoptee is married, the spouse must sign a consent to the adoption. This need not be witnessed by the court, social worker or a notary. It is just one of many forms your attorney will prepare for signing. No adult adoption pleadings require notarization or judicial witnessing.
Can we file in Los Angeles County?
Your legal documents can be filed in the county court of the residence of either the adopting parent(s) or the person being adopted (the adoptee). As long as one lives in Los Angeles County, the other can live in another county, another state, or even another country. The key is that one must be resident of the county in which we file.
Although California law is the same in every county, each county court is a bit different in the way they handle adoptions. For example: do they require that the documents be filed by old-fashioned paper pleadings or electronically; which local court documents are required, can the adoption be finalized by an in-person hearing or by video; and how long an adult adoption takes from start-to-finish. Every county has about 7-8 core documents, but some counties, like Los Angeles, have additional required documents (stipulations, cover sheets, et cetera). Adult adoptions are normally done via legal pleadings. Here is a page from a sample Petition for Adult Adoption.
-What is the start-to-finish time?
Great news. The Los Angeles Superior Court's adoption division is one of the best run among California courts. This has not always been the case, but for the last several years the adoption staff has been excellent. This starts with the filing clerks and extends to the present judge assigned adult adoptions: All are outstanding. This is best shown by the fact that when the adult adoption is being handled by an experienced attorney, most cases are completed in only 3-6 weeks after filing. To compare to surrounding county courts, their times range from 3-6 months.
-What is the final hearing like?
Adult adoptions require only one court hearing: the final hearing in which the adoption is granted. The basic steps are these:
- Your attorney prepares and files the required documents. This will include such documents as the Adoption Cover Sheet, Petition for Adoption, Adoption Agreement, Spousal Consents (if the adopting parent or adoptee are married), Order of Adoption, VS-44 form, Stipulation, and usually 3-4 additional documents that will vary based upon the uniqueness of each case.
- The court reviews the documents and once accepted, assigns a case number and opens the case.
- The court will set a final hearing date.
In almost every case, both the adopting parent(s) and adoptee, and their attorney, appear in court. The hearing is official, with a judge on the bench, and seated next to her the court clerk, court reporter, and deputy, but it is friendly and ceremonial. The reality is that in a family law courthouse, adoption final hearings are about the only nice thing judges get to do all day. The rest of their day is providing over contested matters. So judges tend to be quite happy when they are finalizing adoptions.
Some basic questions are asked by the judge and she confirms all the proper documents have been filed. It usually lasts only about 15 minutes. The work was in getting there. When the hearing is completed the court will sign the order and it will be certified and embossed by the clerk, and you will be given several courtesy copies.
-Is the final hearing in person or by video?
Covid changed everything. Pre-Covid, few court matters were by video. Now they are quite common. A special written request and order must be filed to have a video hearing, but the court almost always grants them. So not only can the parties appear by video, guests can also attend by video. This allows friends or family to be a part of the hearing, even if they live far away.
IF YOU PREFER LEARNING BY VIDEO, THIS YOUTUBE VIDEO COVERS ALL THE ISSUES IN THIS ARTICLE.
Does adult adoption include a name change? A new birth certificate?
An adult adoption gives the adoptee the option to change their name and/or get an amended birth certificate. This means adult adoption basically gives you a free name change, and you avoid all the usual name change requirements. For example, you would not have to go to court to file for a name change, pay the filing fee, and do the required newspaper publication announcing the planned name change, then go back to court for approval. In adoptions, you do none of that. Your attorney will include the desired name change in the Petition for Adoption and Order for Adoption. So the name change is official the moment the adoption is granted.
But you will still need to do all the things people need to do after a name change, such as notify Social Security, the DMV, your credit card company and bank, et cetera, but these are routine things and your attorney can easily guide you through them. (For example, notifying Social Security is as simple as downloading a form and there is no fee to file it.)
-What about the new birth certificate?
Few people know the adoptee can also elect to get a new amended birth certificate (or choose to keep the existing one.) An amended birth certificate would state the new name of the adoptee (if they elected to change their name as part of the adoption), and can list the adopting parent(s) as biological parents. The amended birth certificate is prepared by the Vital Records / Birth Registry office of the state where the adoptee was born, not by the court. If the adoptee was born in California, our Vital Records office takes about 6-7 months to prepare and mail you your certified copy of the new birth certificate after the adoption was completed. If the birth was in another state, the time period is about the same but can vary. Prior to receiving the amended birth certificate, however, you have your signed and certified Order of Adoption to show the adoption was granted and any name change is effective.
Will adult adoption terminate the rights of my existing parent(s)?
This is actually two different issues. Let's look at both of them...
-What if the adopting parent is married to the adoptee's birth parent (a step parent adoption)?
If the adopting parent is married to one of the adoptee's existing parents (a stepparent adult adoption) then no, that parent automatically keeps their rights. For example, David's mother is Linda, who is married to Mark. Mark has been David's stepfather for many years and now wishes to adopt him as an adult. The adoption will make Mark the legal father of David, and Linda keeps her parental rights and is still David's mother. Nothing "extra" needs to be done to keep the parental rights of Linda effective. She automatically keeps her parental rights because she is married to the person adopting her child.
-What about the parental rights of the non-spouse?
Let's go back to the above example. David's mother is Linda, who is married to Mark. Mark has been David's stepfather for many years and now wishes to adopt him as an adult. The adoption will make Mark the legal father of David, and Linda keeps her parental rights. But what about the father of David (the adoptee). What happens to his rights?
Or the same situation would exist if it is not a stepparent adoption at all. Let's say a couple (or one parent) wants to adopt Hailey. What about Hailey's existing legal mother and father's rights?
In both these scenarios, there has been a very important legal change effective 2020. Prior to 2020, any adult would terminate the rights of the current legal parents when adopted by someone else. (Except in stepparent cases.) But as of 2020, the adoptee has the option. They can elect to let their existing parental relationships legally end. Or they can have their attorney do extra paperwork to specifically order that one or both of their current legal parents (whatever the adoptee wants) will keep their legal parental relationship. This needs to be specified in the Order of Adoption.
There is no requirement to give notice to the adoptee's parents, whether the adoptee is electing to keep their parental rights intact or not. And their consent is not required either. Because the adoptee is an adult, the requirements are completely different than with the adoption of children.
-Who is on the new birth certificate?
The adoptee is not required to get a new birth certificate. It is optional. Some people elect to keep their existing birth certificate as they know they have the Order of Adoption if they ever need to prove who their adoptive parent is.
But if a new birth certificate is desired, it will name all the legal parents as stated by the Order of Adoption. So if the adoptee was adopted by a single person and chose not to keep the parental rights intact with their prior legal parents, only the adopting parent would be listed as parent. If the adoptee had two legal parents and wanted to keep their parental relationship legally intact, after being adopted by another couple who had come to be like parents, all four would be listed on the new birth certificate.
Having more than two parents is not uncommon in California and many states. There are a few very old-school, conservative states, however, that still only allows no more than two parents to be listed on a birth certificate. This does not mean a person born in one of those few states can't do an adult adoption in California and keep existing parent rights, but it would affect their ability to get an amended birth certificate in some states.
Will adult adoption create US citizenship for foreign citizens?
Adult adoption does not create citizenship, nor give any visa / immigration benefits to a person being adopted who is not a US citizen. Sadly, many people believe this is the case and waste money paying attorneys who are either ignorant or unethical. Adoption only gives citizenship to minors adopted under age 16 meeting certain specific requirements, such as meeting the "orphan" designation.
This does not mean you can't do an adult adoption where the adoptee is a citizen of a foreign country. That is not uncommon at all. Just be aware the purpose would be to create the parent-child relationship for the benefits it creates, but not for citizenship / immigration benefits.
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I hope this information has been helpful to you. Best wishes with your adult adoption.