A Florida man recently received adoption papers for his 53rd birthday from his 22-year old stepdaughter. The man received the legal papers along with a pen for his birthday gift this year. At first, he thought it was a joke, and then realized what his stepdaughter’s gift to him meant and asked her if he was adopting her. His stepdaughter responded that he did not have to adopt her, but that she would like it he did. The man remarked that she had no idea what the adoption request meant to him. Although his stepdaughter is older than 18, Florida allows for adult adoptions.
News reports noted that the man’s stepdaughter had wanted her stepfather to adopt her for years, however, her birth father would not permit the adoption. The stepdaughter’s birth father reportedly left when she was 8. Because families come together in different ways, different adults may become important in the lives of children, and adoption provides a method of legally recognizing those important emotional relationships.
Stepparent adoption allows for the important relationship that may exist between a stepparent and stepchild to enjoy legal recognition. Adult adoption may also be a meaningful way to structure a family or provide an option for other types of nontraditional familial relationships. Apart from being a way for families to grow and expand, adoption may also be important if one wishes a non-blood family member to inherent. Families come in many varieties in today’s society, and adoption and the family law process helps families account for important emotional bonds while protecting their important legal interests.
When families are considering growing or how to legally recognizing meaningful relationships that may be shared between members, the family law process provides important resources. Parents, families, adult children and others should all be familiar with the number of ways the family law legal process can help them legally account for their unique family structure.
Source: WFTV9 abc “Florida man receives adoption papers as birthday gift,” Sept. 2, 2016