Picking your parents: adult adoption

It’s never too late to start over. A sentiment often heard with divorce or work crises, but what about with your parents? It’s true, you can pick your parents and there has been a slight uptick in the number of adults choosing to be adopted by other adults creating a new family by choice not chance.

Adult adoptions appear to be rising in America. This is according to Chuck Johnson, president and CEO of the National council For Adoption. This group, like others, has a hard time tracking adult adoptions because, regardless of age of the adoptee, many states mandate sealed documents.

“But anecdotally, it does seem to be occurring more frequently,” Johnson said. Most commonly, it’s the adult foster child who wants formality with the parents he or she has known most of their lives. Sometimes adults who have lost their parents and have a close relationship with other older adults will want to seal the relationship through adoption. Occasionally a homosexual couple will choose adult adoption to ensure that inheritances are not barred from their partner. Or, increasing even more, the handicapped person who is adopted by a caretaker to ensure continuity of care. This gives the caretaker the ability to make medical decisions. “No matter how old you are, you never lose the desire for a family,” explained Johnson.

In fact, there are social stigmas to not having family. Adult adoptions takes care of that problem and helps people feel connected.

Many states allow adult adoption but with some restrictions. In Alabama, the process is reserved for disabled people. In Illinois, the family must live together for at least two years. Some states don’t even have age gap requirements, only that the person being adopted is over 18 and willing.

Source: MSNBC.com