Can you legally adopt at the age of 18 in this scenario?

i know this is a rare rare rare rare rare rare situation.

but say an 18 year old girl had a 22 year old boyfriend. boyfriend has an 11 month year old son (the mother signed away all rights and wants nothing to do with the child, neither does the mother's parents). he was ophaned at the age of 12 and was in foster care till he turned 18. Pretty much all he has family-wise, is his son. him and 18 yo (who is doing very well financially) are planning to get married when the father gets in a near-fatal car accident. he is now on his death bed and wants the girlfriend/fiance to adopt and raise his son. She is more than willing.

could that legally be done?

BLW_KAM

You need to speak with an attorney. Perhaps legal guardianship of the child is a short-term solution.

Do you live in the US? If so, each state has its own laws about how old a person needs to be to adopt. In some states it's 18, some 19, others 21 and a few require a person to be 25. Review the document in the link below to find out the legal age to adopt in your state. If it just says "adult" then you need to research what a legal adult is in your state.

elaeblue

Yes, he needs to make a will designating her the childs guardian. Any court will give the child to her with that.

cricketlady

Another case for family services and the courts. I would guess she will have to go through all the background checks and involvement with family services just like anyone else--and she should. If the child's father dies family services will enter immediately. In my area you have to be 21 to foster or adopt.

durdenslabs

Possibly. A lawyer would need to be present, before he dies, in order to draw up the papers. She would have to be financially stable, have a place to live, a support system, vehicle & health insurance.
Since an agency isn't being used, but rather a judge and lawyer, the 18 yr old wouldn't have to be 21 (as proposed by 99% of agencies/foster care).

Julia B

Yes. He can name you as his child's legal guardian and it is as legal as an adoption, if you want to go the extra step you can adopt him but it shouldn't be necessary.

n_love0705

i would talk to ur local children services board.. because if he is on his death bed he might not be considered capable of making that decision now unless he had previously put in on some sort of document ( will..etc)

Even though the mom signed over rights she can still fight it.. my mom signed over rights on me and fought my foster parents once they started the adoption process just out of spite to my fp..

This is a very touchy subject.. because of how young the person is who is wanting to adopt. there are so many ppl that could fight something like this..even other family members.. kinship adoption is what that is called. when an aunt or uncle brother sister etc want to step in its most likely they will win..the courts always lean towards family first . as frustrating as that can be its true.

mom of many

sorry, but even in a death bed situation, a adoptive mom must be a step-mom...meaning legally married for an adoption to occur.The bio mo could have given up custody but not signed off legal legal rights.

gypsywinter

Another supposed teen asking about adoption...NEXT!!

snowwillow20

Lawyer

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