Adult adoption in Maryland is a Circuit Court process that creates a legal parent-child relationship between two consenting adults, carrying the same weight as a biological one for inheritance, taxes, and most benefits programs. Any adult can petition to adopt another adult under Maryland’s independent adoption statutes, there is no required age gap, and no biological relationship is needed. The process is shorter than a minor adoption because the protections built around children fall away, but the legal effect is just as durable.
Who Can Adopt and Who Can Be Adopted
Maryland Family Law § 5-3B-13 allows any adult to petition a court for adoption and any adult or minor to be adopted.1Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Family Law 5-3B-13 The statute does not require a biological tie, a minimum age difference, or a particular kind of existing relationship. Stepparents, longtime family friends, foster parents, and same-sex partners all use this route.
If the petitioner is married and the adoptee is an adult, the petitioner’s spouse may join in the petition but does not have to.1Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Family Law 5-3B-13 If marital status changes between filing and finalization, the petition has to be amended to reflect that.
Consent
The adult being adopted must consent, and that consent can be revoked at any time before the judge signs the final order.2Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Family Law 5-3B-21 – Consent After the decree is entered, revocation is off the table.
Biological parents do not need to consent, and they cannot block an adult child’s decision to be adopted by someone else. Section 5-3B-20, which governs consent in the context of parental rights, expressly does not apply to the adoption of an adult.3Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Family Law 5-3B-20 The adoptee is treated as a fully autonomous person who chooses their own family structure.
What the Petition Must Include
Maryland Rule 9-103 lays out what goes into the petition, which each petitioner signs and verifies as a sworn statement.4New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Maryland Rules, Rule 9-103 – Petition The petition must state:
- The petitioner’s name, address, age, business or employment, and employer
- The adoptee’s name, sex, date and place of birth
- The name, address, and age of each biological parent of the adoptee
- Any existing relationship between the adoptee and each petitioner
- The name, address, and age of each of the petitioner’s children
- Whether the petitioner has ever been convicted of a crime other than a minor traffic violation, with the offense and the date and place of conviction
- Any requested new name for the adoptee
- Any facts suggesting a party may have a disability affecting the ability to consent or participate, or a statement that no such facts are known
The criminal history disclosure catches some petitioners off guard. It is not an automatic disqualifier, but the judge will see it, and hiding it inside a sworn document creates a much bigger problem than an old conviction ever would.
Filing, Fee, and the Hearing
File the completed petition in the Circuit Court for the county where either party lives. The filing fee is $165 in at least some Maryland circuits.5Montgomery County, Maryland, Circuit Court. Understanding Adoption Cases Confirm the exact amount with your local clerk, since it can vary slightly by jurisdiction.
Once the filing is docketed, the court schedules a hearing. The judge reviews the petition, confirms the legal requirements are met, and verifies the consents. Adult adoption hearings are usually brief. There is no home study, no investigation report, no guardian ad litem. The judge may ask a few questions about the relationship and the reason for the adoption before signing a Judgment of Adoption. When the clerk enters that judgment, the adoption is final.
What Happens to Biological Parent Rights
This is the point most people considering adult adoption in Maryland do not see coming. In many states, an adoption automatically cuts every legal tie to the biological parents. Maryland does not.
Under § 5-3B-27, the adoption order does not terminate a living biological parent’s duties, obligations, and rights unless that parent consents to the termination.6Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Family Law 5-3B-27 – Adoption An adult can therefore gain a new legal parent through adoption without losing the legal relationship to a biological parent, unless that biological parent affirmatively agrees to give it up.
The inheritance consequences follow directly. If the biological parent relationship stays intact, the adoptee may inherit from both the adoptive parent and the biological parent. If the biological parent consents to termination, that second pathway closes. Anyone pursuing adult adoption should think carefully about which outcome fits their situation and talk it through with everyone involved before filing.
Why People Pursue Adult Adoption
Inheritance Rights
Once the adoption is final, the adoptee has the same legal standing as a biological child for inheritance.7The Maryland People’s Law Library. Adoption If the adoptive parent dies without a will, the adoptee inherits under Maryland’s intestacy laws the same way a biological child would.
Maryland Inheritance Tax
Maryland imposes a 10% inheritance tax on property passing to most beneficiaries, but the tax does not apply to property passing to the decedent’s child, and Maryland treats adopted children the same as biological children in that category. An adoptee pays no Maryland inheritance tax on what they receive from the adoptive parent. Without the adoption, a non-relative inheriting the same property would face the full 10% on the clear value received.
Step-Up in Basis
Inherited property gets a stepped-up tax basis: the basis becomes the fair market value at the date of death rather than what the parent originally paid.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 1014 – Basis of Property Acquired From a Decedent If a house bought for $100,000 is worth $400,000 at death, the adoptee’s basis is $400,000, and a quick sale at that price produces no capital gains tax. The same house given as a lifetime gift would carry over the original basis, leaving the recipient owing capital gains tax on the $300,000 of appreciation.
Medicaid Caretaker Child Exception
Federal law lets a parent transfer their home to a son or daughter without triggering a Medicaid penalty, provided that child lived in the home for at least two years before the parent entered a nursing facility and provided care that allowed the parent to remain at home.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 1396p – Liens, Adjustments and Recoveries, and Transfers of Assets An adopted child qualifies on the same terms as a biological child. Where an adult has been a live-in caregiver without any legal parent-child relationship, formalizing the adoption can protect that home transfer from Medicaid’s look-back rules.
Social Security Survivor Benefits
Adult adoptees can qualify for Social Security survivor benefits from the adoptive parent, but the rules are narrower than many expect. If the adoption happens after the insured is already collecting retirement or disability benefits and the adoptee was at least 18 when proceedings began, the adoptee counts as dependent only if they were living with or receiving at least half their support from the insured during the year before finalization.10Social Security Administration. 20 CFR 404.362 – When a Legally Adopted Child Is Dependent Survivor benefits also carry age restrictions, so an adult adoptee who is over 18, not disabled, and not a full-time student generally will not receive monthly child survivor checks. The adoption still matters for other purposes; the survivor check is not automatic.
Updating Records After the Decree
When the judge signs the order, the clerk of the court is required to send a report of the decree to the Maryland Department of Health, which triggers the amended birth certificate listing the adoptive parent.11Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Health-General 4-211 – New Birth Certificates The adoptee does not have to send anything separately to Vital Records, though getting your own certified copy of the adoption decree is worth doing for other purposes.
Social Security updates are on the adoptee. If the adoption included a name change, you can request a replacement Social Security card. Part of the process may start online, but you will likely need to bring original documents, including the adoption decree, to a local Social Security office.12Social Security Administration. Change Name With Social Security Social Security accepts a final adoption decree as proof for updating parent names on your record as well.13Social Security Administration. Learn What Documents You Will Need to Get a Social Security Card
After that, work through the driver’s license, passport, bank accounts, insurance policies, and any beneficiary designations. The adoption decree is the anchor document for all of them.
The Adoption Is Permanent
Once the judge signs the decree and the revocation window has closed, the legal relationship exists the same way a biological one does. Maryland does not offer a simple way to undo an adult adoption after finalization. A court can vacate a decree in extraordinary circumstances, such as a showing that consent was obtained through fraud or duress, but those challenges are rare and hard to win. Treat the adoption as irreversible before agreeing to go through with it.