Adult adoption is a form of adoption between two or more adults in order to transfer inheritance rights and/or filiation. Adult adoption may be done for various reasons including: to establish interstate inheritance rights;[1] to formalize a step-parent/step-child relationship or a foster parent/foster child relationship; or to restore the original legal relationship between adult adoptees and their biological families.[2]

In Japan, adult adoption may be used in order to facilitate the continuance of a family business.[3] This form of adoption is known as mukoyōshi ("son-in-law adoption").[4]

Depending on the laws of the jurisdiction, adult adoption may not be available as a legal option. In the United Kingdom, only children may be adopted. The Adoption and Children Act (2002) states, "An application for an adoption order may only be made if the person to be adopted has not attained the age of 18 years on the date of the application."[5]

In places where adult adoptions exist, it may or may not transfer filiation in addition to inheritance rights. For example, in Colorado, one can adopt an adult of age 21 or older for inheritance purposes, but filiation will remain unaffected.[6] However, adoption of a person between the ages of 18 and 20 (inclusive) transfers both inheritance rights and filiation.[7] In most other American states, both filiation and inheritance rights are transferred. In countries where same-sex couples have not received the same legal protections as heterosexual couples, adult adoption of a partner has been used to ensure the property transfer to the surviving partner upon death.[8][9][10]

Among same-sex couples

During 80s and 90s, in absence of recognition of same-sex marriage, adult adoption was a way used by some persons having same-sex preference to let their partner inherit their estates.[11] The process however involved the convoluted process of first getting rid of the formal parent child relationship of the adoptee from his/her biological parents and then applying for an adult adoption where his/her partner would be the adopter. In the 2010 book Equality for Same-Sex Couples: The Legal Recognition of Gay Partnerships in Europe and the United States, author Yuval Merin called adult adoption among same-sex couples "problematic" and noted that it had not gained popularity as a means to "circumvent the impossibility of same-sex marriage" at that time in the U.S.[12]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Ratliff, S. (2011). "Adult Adoption: Intestate Succession and Class Gifts under the Uniform Probate Code" (PDF). Northwestern University Law Review. 105 (4).
  2. ↑ Healing Families Dismembered By Adoption.
  3. ↑ Mehrotra, Vikas; Morck, Randall; Shim, Jungwook; Wiwattanakantangd, Yupana (2013). "Adoptive Expectations: Rising Sons in Japanese Family Firms" (PDF). Journal of Financial Economics. 108 (3): 840–854. doi:10.1016/j.jfineco.2013.01.011. ISSN 0304-405X.
  4. ↑ "Keeping it in the family: Family firms adopt an unusual approach to remain competitive". The Economist. 1 December 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  5. ↑ "Adoption and Children Act 2002". legislation.gov.uk. Section 49 (4).
  6. ↑ "Article 1 Adoption - Adults, Section 14-1-101 "Adoption of Adults"" (PDF). Domestic Matters. Colorado Revised Statutes. Vol. Title 14. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 March 2016.
  7. ↑ "Article 5 Relinquishment and Adoption, Part 2 Adoption, Section 19-5-201 "Who May be Adopted"" (PDF). Children's Code. Colorado Revised Statutes. Vol. Title 19. p. 301. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 October 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  8. ↑ "Adoption gave gay Fox Chapel couple legal stature; now it disallows them marriage". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  9. ↑ Green, Elon (19 October 2015). "The Lost History of Gay Adult Adoption". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  10. ↑ Maree, Claire. "Sexual citizenship at the intersections of patriarchy and heteronormativity Same-sex partnerships and the koseki" (PDF). University of Melbourne. p. 194. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  11. ↑ Green, Elon (19 October 2015). "The Lost History of Gay Adult Adoption". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  12. ↑ Merin, Yuval (2010). Equality for Same-Sex Couples: The Legal Recognition of Gay Partnerships in Europe and the United States. University of Chicago Press. p. 196. ISBN 978-0-226-52033-9. Retrieved 8 May 2020.


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