Adult Adoption in Alabama: Consent, Process, and Limits

Adult adoption in Alabama is a probate-court process, governed by Title 26, Chapter 10F of the Alabama Code, that creates a permanent legal parent-child relationship between two adults. When everyone consents and the paperwork is in order, it usually moves quickly. But the person being adopted has to fit one of the categories the statute recognizes, and the petitioner has to file the right documents and appear before a judge.

Who Can Adopt and Who Can Be Adopted

Alabama does not let any adult adopt any other adult. Under Section 26-10F-6, the adoptee must fall into one of the qualifying categories on the official petition form: an adult stepchild, an adult with a total and permanent disability, or an adult in a kinship or de facto parent-child relationship with the petitioner.¹

The petitioner must be an adult Alabama resident. A married petitioner’s spouse generally has to join the petition, and no more than two petitioners can be named on a single adoption.¹

Consent

Every adult adoption under Chapter 10F needs written consent from the person being adopted, and the judge will confirm at the hearing that the consent is voluntary and free of duress, coercion, or undue influence.¹ If the adoptee has a guardian or conservator, that person signs on their behalf.

Unlike a child adoption, the biological parents of an adult adoptee generally do not have to consent. The court does require proof that notice of the proceeding was served on everyone entitled to receive it under Section 26-10F-9.

Filing the Petition

The petition is filed with the probate court clerk in the petitioner’s county of residence. Each petitioner signs and verifies it. Alongside the petition itself, the court expects a supporting file that typically includes:¹

Written consents from the adoptee, or their guardian or conservator, and any other required parties.
Certified birth certificates for each petitioner and the adoptee, issued within six months of the filing date.
Marriage certificates for the petitioners and the adoptee, if applicable.
Proof that notice was served on everyone entitled to it.
The Alabama Report of Adoption Form.
Proof of the qualifying relationship — kinship, de facto parent-child ties, or disability status.

A filing fee is due at submission and varies by county and by whether the adoption is between related or non-related parties. Mobile County, for example, charges $65 for a related adoption and $111 for a non-related adoption.² Check with your county’s probate clerk for the exact figure.

The Court Hearing

Once the petition is filed, the court schedules a dispositional hearing. Both the petitioner and the adoptee must appear in person. The court can allow electronic participation only if a party shows good cause that in-person appearance is impossible or impractical.¹

The judge decides the petition under a clear and convincing evidence standard. That is a higher bar than the everyday preponderance standard: the court must be strongly persuaded that every statutory requirement is met. Specifically, the judge has to find that:

The adoptee qualifies under one of the Section 26-10F-6 categories.
All consents and required documents have been properly executed and filed.
Each petitioner is a suitable adoptive parent and genuinely wants a parent-child relationship with the adoptee.
Every party understands what the adoption means and is acting voluntarily.
The adoption is in the adoptee’s best interest and raises no public-interest concerns.

If a party contests the adoption, the case moves onto the contested track under Section 26-10F-12. When everyone agrees, the hearing is usually short. If the judge is satisfied, they sign a written final judgment of adoption.¹

What the Adoption Decree Changes

The final judgment establishes a permanent legal parent-child relationship. For Alabama-law purposes, the adopted adult is treated the same as a biological child of the adoptive parent.³

Inheritance

Under Alabama’s intestacy laws, the adoptee inherits from the adoptive parent exactly as a biological child would. The adoption also severs the legal relationship with the adoptee’s former parents, so the adoptee generally loses the right to inherit from biological parents through intestacy.³

There is a stepparent exception. When a stepparent adopts their spouse’s child, the adoption does not affect the child’s right to inherit from or through the biological parent who is married to the stepparent.³ So if your stepfather adopts you, you keep your inheritance rights from your biological mother.

Severed Parental Ties

The judgment terminates the parent-child relationship between the adoptee and one or both prior legal parents, depending on the circumstances. The order specifies whose parental relationship ends and directs the corresponding substitution of names on the amended birth certificate.¹ The severance covers all legal parental rights and responsibilities, not just inheritance.

Name Change

The adoptee can ask for a legal name change as part of the adoption. If the court grants it, the new name goes into the final judgment and onto the amended birth certificate, so no separate name-change petition is needed.¹

Birth Certificate

After the decree, the State Registrar of Vital Statistics creates a new birth record showing the adoptive parent’s name and any new name the adoptee received. The original birth certificate is sealed and filed with the court decree.⁴

Alabama still allows an adopted adult to obtain a copy of the pre-adoption birth certificate. A person who is at least 19, was born in Alabama, and had their original birth certificate removed because of an adoption can submit a written request. The copy is marked non-certified and cannot be used for legal purposes.⁵

Where an Adult Adoption Doesn’t Reach

The Alabama decree makes the adoptee your child under state law. Several federal programs, however, treat “child” as an age-based category, so an adoption that happens in adulthood may not open the door to benefits people often assume follow from a parent-child relationship.

Citizenship

The Child Citizenship Act of 2000 gives certain foreign-born adopted children automatic U.S. citizenship, but only if the qualifying events happen before the child turns 18. Someone adopted after 18 does not acquire citizenship through the adoptive parent and would have to pursue naturalization on their own.⁶

Federal Adoption Tax Credit

The federal adoption tax credit applies only when the adopted person is under 18 or is physically or mentally incapable of self-care. A standard adult adoption where the adoptee is a capable adult does not qualify.⁷

Health Insurance

Under the Affordable Care Act, plans that offer dependent coverage must make it available until the dependent turns 26, regardless of marital status, school enrollment, or financial dependency, and this applies to adopted children the same as biological children. An adoptee under 26 at the time of the adoption may be eligible for coverage on the adoptive parent’s plan.⁸

Social Security Survivor Benefits

Social Security pays survivor benefits to a deceased worker’s child only if the child is 17 or younger, 18 to 19 and a full-time student, or any age if a qualifying disability began before 22.⁹ An otherwise healthy adult adoptee generally will not qualify for survivor benefits on the adoptive parent’s record.

1
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 26-10F-13 – Dispositional Hearing; Final Judgment
2
Mobile County Probate Court. Judicial – Initial Filing Fees
3
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 43-8-48 – Parent and Child Relationship
4
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 26-10A-32 – Birth Certificates
5
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 22-9A-12 – New Birth Certificate Upon Adoption, Legitimation, or Paternity Determination
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Adult Adoptees and U.S. Citizenship
7
Internal Revenue Service. Adoption Credit
8
U.S. Department of Labor. Young Adults and the Affordable Care Act: Protecting Young Adults and Eliminating Burdens on Businesses and Families FAQs
9
Social Security Administration. Who Can Get Survivor Benefits