Im 20 years old, and have never met my biological father... My mums partner of 17 years (who I see as my dad, who has been there through everything, parents evenings, school performances, moving house etc) wants to adopt me after speaking about this for some time. How would I go about this? My mum asked me what I would like for my 21st birthday in December this year and my answer was to have a proper dad and to have the same name as my siblings... to have him as the grandfather of my children one day. Can anyone help?

Thank You :)

Since you are now an adult, this should be very easy. You probably would not need the bio father's consent. The easiest way is to consult a Family Law attorney to prepare the petition to present to the court. This should not be too expensive so shop around for an attorney.

Thanks for your reply Scott, I was told that in the UK (which is where I am )that you can't be adopted after the age of 18? And do you know roughly how much id be looking to pay for a Family Law attorney?

Whoops, you should have mentioned your location from the beginning. Laws do vary. According to this site:

Adoption UK FAQs

No adult adoption would be recognized by UK law.

The main purpose of an adult adoption is to establish inheritance. But your step father can take care of that by naming you in his will specifically. The second purpose is changing your name. And that you CAN do.

Brilliant! Thanks for your help Scott :)

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Originally Posted by ScottGem

Whoops, you should have mentioned your location from the beginning. ...

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I find this to be a just about infallible rule:

Where the OP uses the phrase "My mum", he/she is in the UK. :cool:

Oh yeah Americans say mom don't they? Lol... Thanks for pointing that out AK Lawyer :)

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Originally Posted by AK lawyer

I find this to be a just about infallible rule:

Where the OP uses the phrase "My mum", he/she is in the UK. :cool:

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Its definitely a clue. One I missed.

GV70 does not find this helpful : what??

Did I miss something?

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Originally Posted by ScottGem

Since you are now an adult, this should be very easy.
Did I miss something?

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Yes. Even in the USA it is not so easy to be done,because some states have legal restrictions on that matter. Some states allow only disabled adults to be adopted,others allow only foster parents to adopt their adult foster children , etc.

Example-Alabama Code
26-10A-6. Who may be adopted
The following persons may be adopted:
(1) A minor.
(2) An adult under any one of the following conditions:
a. He or she is totally and permanently disabled.
b. He or she is determined to be mentally retarded.

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Originally Posted by GV70

Yes. Even in the USA it is not so easy to be done,because some states have legal restrictions on that matter. Some states allow only disabled adults to be adopted,others allow only foster parents to adopt their adult foster children and etc.

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Ok, Thanks for the correction!