Adult Adoption in Florida

An adult adoption is a court proceeding that creates a legal parent-child relationship between two adults. The adoptee must be 18 or older. The adoption gives the adoptive parent full parental status, which includes inheritance rights, next-of-kin standing, and the right to share a last name.

Florida’s adult adoption process is simpler than adopting a minor. No home study, background check, or waiting period is required, and the biological parents cannot block the adoption. Chapter 63 of the Florida Statutes governs the process.

Why Do People Pursue an Adult Adoption?

Adult adoption in Florida most often formalizes a parent-child relationship that already exists. The most common scenario is a stepparent who raised a stepchild but never completed a stepparent adoption while the child was a minor. Once the child turns 18, an adult adoption makes the relationship legally permanent without requiring the absent biological parent’s consent.

Florida law recognizes several forms of adoption, and adult adoption is the only one that never requires a biological parent’s consent. Other common reasons include:

• Inheritance rights. The adoptee becomes a legal heir with the same standing as a biological child, which can simplify estate planning and avoid will contests.

• Next-of-kin status. The adoptive parent gains authority for hospital visitation and medical decision-making in emergencies.

• Kinship recognition. A foster parent or kinship caregiver who raised the adoptee can formalize the relationship they already have.

• Name change. The adoptee can take the adoptive parent’s last name as part of the proceeding.

• Severing a harmful relationship. The adoption terminates the legal relationship with an absent or harmful biological parent.

What Are the Requirements for Adult Adoption in Florida?

Florida law imposes few restrictions on adult adoption. Any adult can adopt another adult regardless of age, and there is no required age difference between the petitioner and the adoptee. The petitioner can be single or married, and married couples may petition jointly. LGBTQ+ couples and stepparents can adopt through this process.

Up to three written consents are required. The adoptee must consent in writing. If the petitioner is married, the petitioner’s spouse must consent. If the adoptee is married, the adoptee’s spouse must also consent, although a judge can waive a spouse’s consent for good cause. These rules come from section 63.062(8), which conditions an adult adoption on just two things: the written consents and notice to the adoptee’s existing parents.

The biological parents do not need to consent. They must be notified of the hearing, but they cannot prevent the adoption. Florida appellate courts have applied this rule since at least 1969: the existing parents are entitled to notice of the hearing and nothing more.

Florida does not require residency. Neither the petitioner nor the adoptee needs to have lived in Florida for any set period of time. Florida previously required a six-month residency period for the adoptee, but that requirement was repealed. The petition is filed in the circuit court where the petitioner resides or where the attorney is located. That venue rule lets a petitioner anywhere in Florida complete the adoption through an attorney based elsewhere.

How Does the Adult Adoption Process Work?

Adult adoption in Florida follows five steps, and the entire process typically takes two to three months from filing to final hearing.

• File the petition. The petitioner files a petition for adult adoption in the circuit court, along with the adoptee’s written consent and any required spousal consents. Florida law requires the petition to state the names, ages, and residences of the petitioner and the adoptee, plus the reason the petitioner wishes to adopt.

• Pay the filing fee. The county clerk charges a filing fee to open the adoption case. The amount varies by county.

• Schedule the hearing. The clerk assigns the case to a judge. The attorney coordinates with the judge’s office to schedule a final hearing date.

• Serve notice on biological parents. Florida law requires that the adoptee’s existing legal parents receive formal notice of the hearing. Notice must be delivered by a sheriff’s deputy or private process server. If the biological parents cannot be located, the court may allow constructive service by publishing a notice in a court-approved newspaper.

• Attend the final hearing. Most judges conduct the hearing virtually. The hearing typically lasts five to ten minutes. The judge confirms that both parties understand the legal consequences of the adoption and that all procedural requirements have been met. Some judges ask the parties to bring photo identification, Social Security cards, and the petitioners’ marriage license. The judge then enters a Final Judgment of Adult Adoption.

In our experience, serving notice is the step that most often extends the timeline. When a biological parent has moved without a forwarding address, the diligent search and newspaper publication can add four to six weeks to an otherwise routine case.

After the final judgment is entered, the attorney submits paperwork to the Florida Bureau of Vital Statistics to obtain an amended birth certificate listing the petitioner as the parent. If the adoptee’s name was changed as part of the adoption, the new birth certificate reflects the name change. The original birth certificate is sealed.

What Are the Legal Effects of an Adult Adoption?

An adult adoption in Florida has the same legal force as adopting a minor. Florida law treats an adopted person the same whether the adoption happened at age 5 or age 50. Section 63.172 makes the adoptee a descendant of the adopting parent and natural kindred to the entire adoptive family. The adoptee becomes the legal child of the adoptive parent for all purposes, including inheritance.

The adoption terminates the legal relationship between the adoptee and their biological parents, with one exception: a biological parent who is married to the petitioner keeps full parental status. In the typical stepparent scenario, the adoptee ends up with two legal parents after the judgment, the biological parent and the adopting stepparent. For everyone else in the former family tree, the adoptee becomes a legal stranger for most purposes.

Florida courts have upheld these effects in trust disputes. In Dennis v. Kline, the Fourth District Court of Appeal held there is no statutory basis to exclude an adult adoptee from inheriting under a trust. The court reversed a lower court’s attempt to remove an adult adoptee as a trust beneficiary, holding that Florida treats adopted persons equally with biological children regardless of the age at adoption.

How Much Does It Cost to Adopt an Adult in Florida?

An adult adoption in Florida typically costs $3,000 to $3,500 as a flat attorney fee. This generally covers the legal fee, court filing costs, and the birth certificate amendment. The process takes approximately two to three months from filing to final hearing.

There is no adoption tax credit available for adult adoptions. The federal adoption tax credit applies only to the adoption of minors or individuals with special needs.

What Are the Disadvantages of Adult Adoption?

The main disadvantages of an adult adoption are inheritance disputes in blended families, the loss of legal ties to the biological family, and permanence:

• Inheritance complications in blended families. The adoptee becomes a legal heir with the same rights as a biological child. In blended families, this can create disputes over estate distribution if the adoptive parent’s will or trust does not account for the new legal relationship.

• Loss of biological family rights. The adoption severs the adoptee’s legal ties to their biological family, which can affect inheritance rights from biological relatives and access to family medical history.

• Effect on government benefits. Adoption may affect the adoptee’s eligibility for Social Security survivor benefits from their biological parents or other government programs tied to the biological family relationship.

• Potential insurance effects. Depending on the circumstances, adult adoption may affect eligibility for life insurance benefits or rates tied to the biological family relationship.

• Permanence. The adoption is effectively irreversible. Florida law bars challenges to an adoption judgment after one year, and courts apply that deadline strictly.

Can an Adult Adoption Be Challenged or Reversed?

A finalized adult adoption in Florida is close to bulletproof. Florida law bars any action to vacate or set aside an adoption judgment more than one year after the judgment is entered, on any ground. The one-year limit comes from section 63.182, a statute of repose, and Florida appellate courts have refused to extend it even when the challenger alleges fraud.

The statute also limits who can bring a challenge. A challenger must show a direct, financial, and immediate interest in the judgment. Disapproval of the adoption, or a remote chance of inheriting someday, is not enough to give a relative standing.

Florida’s best-known voided adult adoption shows what it takes to unwind one. In 2011, polo executive John Goodman adopted his 42-year-old girlfriend while facing a wrongful death lawsuit, instantly making her a one-third beneficiary of the trust he had established for his two minor children. A Florida appeals court voided the adoption in 2013, not because adopting an adult to change trust distributions is illegal, but because Goodman concealed the proceeding from his ex-wife, whose children had a direct financial stake. The court called the concealment a fraud on the court.

The contrast with Dennis v. Kline draws the line clearly: Florida courts accept adult adoptions that change who inherits, and they unwind adoptions hidden from the people they affect financially.

When inheritance is the motive for an adult adoption, we recommend updating the adoptive parent’s will or trust at the same time as the adoption. The most common dispute pattern we see in blended families starts with an adoption that the parent’s older estate documents never mention, leaving the new heir’s share to surprise everyone at probate.

Can You Adopt Your Adult Stepchild in Florida?

A stepparent can adopt an adult stepchild in Florida, and it is the most common adult adoption in the state. It is also simpler than a stepparent adoption of a minor. If the person to be adopted is still under 18, a stepparent adoption requires consent from the biological parent whose rights will be terminated, or legal grounds to waive that consent. That consent requirement makes minor adoptions more complex.

Many families wait until the child turns 18 to avoid the consent requirement, particularly when the absent biological parent is uncooperative but has not technically abandoned the child. Once the child is 18, the adoption can proceed as an adult adoption without the biological parent’s consent.

The adoption does not disturb the rights of the biological parent married to the adopting stepparent. That parent keeps full parental status, and the adoptee gains the stepparent as a second legal parent. Only the absent biological parent’s legal relationship ends.