What if after you turn 18 you decide you want one of your step-parents to adopt you? This is a question that can be brought up for a myriad of reasons and a scenario we see in our office frequently. In Arizona, adoption of adults is permissible through meeting certain criteria given by statute. For more information on the criteria and adult adoption in general, see our previous article here. However, for the purposes of this article we will only focus on step-parents adopting their adult step-children.
Step-children can be adopted as adults by their step-parents after the child has reached the age of 18. There is no age limit for the step-children and they can be adopted by the step-parent anytime after the age of 18. Up until recently, the courts in Arizona would only allow for the adult adoption to happen if the step-parent was currently married to the step-child’s biological parent. The reason for this was due to findings in past court cases on whether the step-parent/step-child relationship legally ended upon divorce or death of the biological parent.
Fortunately, stakeholders met with a few legislators in early 2020 to work on a fix. This resulted in what was known as Senate Bill 1236 being introduced by State Senator David Gowan, which proposed clarifying language be added to the statute to ensure that former step-parents could adopt adult step-children. The legislative intent behind this clarification was the fact that the relationship and bond shared by step-parents and step-children is not erased upon death or divorce and most times continues on in life. The legislature agreed as a whole and Senate Bill 1236 was signed into law by Governor Ducey on June 5, 2020. The statute now reads “current or former step-child” instead of just “step-child.”
For more information or answers to questions, please contact our office at 480-635-8700.