Other than Stepparents, What Types of Relationships Support Adult Adoption?

Every family is unique and that is what makes it special. This is especially true in families where adults are voluntarily taking the place of biological parents who are, either voluntarily or involuntarily, missing. While the adults whom assume the parental role are most often stepparents, they can also come from many different places and have many different types of relationships to the adult they want to adopt.

Here are just a few of the other types of relationships that these adults can take.

Grandparents

While grandparents are directly related to their grandchildren, the law in California does not consider them to be “biological” parents because they did not directly conceive a child. However, in many cases where one or both of an adoptee's biological parents are absent, grandparents are the ones who step up and step in, the most to provide the parental role to their grandchildren.

As the adoptee gets older, the importance of performing an adult adoption grow, and the difficulties in going through the process diminish drastically, making it much more feasible for grandparents and their grandchildren to file the paperwork necessary to make their relationship official.

Aunts or Uncles

When one or both of an adoptee's biological parents are absent, the siblings of those parents – the adoptee's aunts or uncles – can also step forward and care for the adoptee in much the same way that grandparents do.

Foster Parents

When an adoptee has grown up in temporary homes and foster care, the adults that they rely on the most are their foster parents. In some cases, these temporary relationships blossom into something far more important than either one could hope for, and it becomes clear that steps should be taken to protect it.

Family Friends & Kindred Spirits

Finally, family friends of the Adult adoptee can also come forward and provide the loving home and the emotional support that a potential adoptee needs so much. Perhaps you have established a strong bond with an adult who lovingly treats you as if you were his/her child. These relationships turn into adult adoptions more often than one would think. Now that adult wants to make it formal and wants to adopt you legally. This situation arises with caregivers, longtime neighbors, longtime family friends or just kindred spirits that want to formalize the legal family relationship with Adult Adoption in California.

A California Adult Adoption Attorney You Can Trust

John J. Pearson is an adult adoption attorney in California who has over 20 years of experience practicing law. His work in the field has given him valuable insight into what makes adult adoptions work, the types of relationships that often lead to an adult adoption, the relationships that might be "red flags," and the most effective ways to solidify that personal bond in the eyes of the law.

Contact him online or call his law office at (310) 945-5655 for the legal help you need to bring your family together.