How long does an adult adoption take in Alaska?

The adoption chapter sets no waiting period for an adult. AS 25.23.110, which bars a decree until the adoptee has lived in the adoptive home, applies to a minor and is switched off where AS 25.23.100(g) or (i) applies. Timing follows the superior court calendar in your judicial district.

Does the adult being adopted in Alaska need their own spouse's consent?

Yes. AS 25.23.040(b) requires written consent from the adult and the adult's spouse. AS 25.23.050(a)(9) lets the court waive that spouse's consent for prolonged unexplained absence, unavailability, incapacity, or circumstances constituting an unreasonable withholding of consent. Form P-415 is the consent form for a spouse.

Do I have to appear in court for an Alaska adult adoption?

Not unless the judge orders it. AS 25.23.120(a) provides that the presence of the petitioner and the person to be adopted is not required at the hearing unless ordered by the court. AS 25.23.150(a) also requires the hearing to be held in closed court.

Which forms do I use to adopt an adult in Alaska?

Form P-405, Adoption Petition, covers both minor and adult cases and asks you to check adult child in section II. Form P-415 carries the consents, and P-440 requests a certificate of adoption. These sit in the probate form series rather than the family law series.

Can the adult being adopted take a new name in the Alaska decree?

Yes. AS 25.23.080(a) requires the person being adopted to be designated in the petition caption under the name they will be known by if the petition is granted. Within 30 days of a final decree the clerk prepares a birth certificate application in that name if asked (AS 25.23.170).

How does an Alaska adult adoption change inheritance?

AS 25.23.130(a)(2) creates the relationship of parent and child for all purposes including inheritance, as if the adoptee were a blood descendant. AS 25.23.130(a)(1) makes the adoptee a stranger to the birth family for inheritance unless the decree specifically provides for continuation of those rights.

What if the adult I want to adopt in Alaska cannot consent?

AS 25.23.040(b) allows the written consent to be executed by the guardian or conservator of an incapacitated adult. Guardianship and adoption are different things: a guardianship gives decision making authority without creating a parent and child relationship, while the decree here creates one permanently.

How to Adopt an Adult in Alaska

Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team · Alaska · Last updated October 7, 2026

Adult adoption in Alaska is a superior court case that permanently makes one adult the legal parent of another adult, with the inheritance and next of kin consequences that follow, and Alaska settles who qualifies in a single sentence. AS 25.23.010 reads: any person may be adopted. There is no category list, no disability requirement, no former stepchild or former foster requirement, and nothing in the adoption chapter requires the adult being adopted to be younger than you or sets a minimum number of years between you. Consent is where the statute gets specific. AS 25.23.040(b) requires written consent from the adult and the adult's spouse, or from the guardian or conservator of an incapacitated adult. Birth parents neither consent nor receive notice once the person being adopted is 18 or older (AS 25.23.050(a)(7)). The lever that sets this state apart sits in AS 25.23.020(a)(4)(C). A married person normally petitions together with their husband or wife, but because the person being adopted is an adult you may petition alone if your spouse consents in writing, so that spouse never becomes a second legal parent. No investigation or home study is required (AS 25.23.100(g)), although the judge may still order one in an adult case under AS 25.23.100(i). You file court form P-405 in the superior court for the judicial district where either of you lives, pay $100, and neither of you has to appear unless the judge orders it (AS 25.23.120(a)). Attorney review of your petition and consent forms is available through DocDraft.

Find out where you stand in Alaska

Who are you hoping to adopt?

DocDraft provides document preparation, not legal advice.

Who can be adopted as an adult in Alaska?

Alaska sets no categories at all. AS 25.23.010 states that any person may be adopted, so there is no disability, former stepchild, or former foster care requirement. The chapter also fixes no minimum age gap and contains no requirement that the adult being adopted be younger than the adopting adult.

Does a husband or wife have to join an Alaska adult adoption petition?

Not always. A married couple may petition together under AS 25.23.020(a)(1), but AS 25.23.020(a)(4)(C) lets a married person petition alone when the person being adopted is an adult and the other spouse consents to the adoption. The consenting spouse does not become a second petitioner.

What does it cost to file an adult adoption in Alaska?

Administrative Rule 9(b)(3) sets $100 for filing an adoption proceeding in the superior court, and the Alaska Court System fee table lists adoption at $100. No surcharge is added. Certifying a copy of a document later costs $10, and one certified copy of the final decree is free.

Which court handles an adult adoption in Alaska?

The superior court. AS 25.23.240(5) defines court as the superior court of this state, and AS 25.23.030(a) places the case in the judicial district where the petitioner or the person being adopted resides or is in military service. There is no separate probate or family court.

Alaska adult adoption at a glance

An Alaska adult adoption is a superior court order that permanently makes one adult the legal parent of another adult, carrying the full rights and duties of a parent and child relationship (AS 25.23.130(a)(2)). Eligibility is one sentence long: any person may be adopted (AS 25.23.010). The statute then does something unusual. Because the person being adopted is an adult, a married petitioner may file alone on the other spouse's written consent rather than joining that spouse as a co-petitioner (AS 25.23.020(a)(4)(C)). Written consent comes from the adult and the adult's spouse, or from the guardian or conservator of an incapacitated adult (AS 25.23.040(b)). Birth parents of an adult neither consent nor receive notice. No investigation is required, the filing fee is $100, and nobody must appear unless the judge orders it.

A Juneau stepmother whose husband stays off the petition

Take a married Juneau carpenter who wants the 34 year old she fostered from age 16 recorded as her son, and a husband who does not want to become his second legal parent. AS 25.23.010 asks the young man to fit no category. Her husband signs court form P-415 as a consenting spouse rather than joining the petition, which AS 25.23.020(a)(4)(C) permits precisely because the person being adopted is an adult. Her son is married, so his wife signs her own consent under AS 25.23.040(b). His birth mother neither consents nor receives notice (AS 25.23.050(a)(7)). No investigation is required (AS 25.23.100(g)). She files P-405 in the superior court at Juneau and pays $100. Attorney review of the papers is available through DocDraft.

Relevant Laws

AS 25.23.010 (who may be adopted)

The whole of Alaska's eligibility rule for adoption, minor or adult, in one sentence: any person may be adopted. No enumerated categories, no disability predicate, and no requirement that the adult being adopted be younger than the adopting adult.

AS 25.23.020 (who may adopt, and the adult specific spousal route)

Lists who may adopt, including a husband and wife together, an unmarried adult, and at subparagraph (a)(4)(C) a married person petitioning alone where the person to be adopted is an adult and the other spouse consents to the adoption.

AS 25.23.040(b) (consent in an adult adoption)

Provides that a petition to adopt an adult may be granted only if written consent has been executed by the adult and the adult's spouse, or by the guardian or conservator of an incapacitated adult. The six item consent list in subsection (a) applies only to a minor.

AS 25.23.100(g) and (i) (investigation not required, but may be ordered)

Subsection (g) provides that an investigation and report is not required where the person to be adopted is an adult, unless the court directs otherwise. Subsection (i) separately allows the court to order an appropriate investigation in an adult case.

Alaska Administrative Rule 9(b)(3) (fee schedule) and court form P-405

Administrative Rule 9(b)(3) sets $100 upon filing of an adoption proceeding in the superior court. Court form P-405, the Adoption Petition, serves both minor and adult adoptions and asks the filer to check adult child.

Regional Variances

Alaska adult adoption rules at a glance

Who may be adopted

Any person (AS 25.23.010). No enumerated categories, no disability gate, no former stepchild or former foster predicate. The only exclusion is that a married petitioner using the file alone route may not adopt their own spouse (AS 25.23.020(a)(4)).

Age of the adoptee

An adult is someone who has reached the age of majority (AS 25.23.240(1)), which AS 25.20.010 fixes at 18. A person also reaches majority upon being married (AS 25.20.020). Court form P-405 treats 18 or older as an adult child.

Age differential

None. The adoption chapter sets no minimum number of years, and a term sweep of AS 25.23.010 through 25.23.240 found no requirement that the adult being adopted be younger than the adopting adult.

Consent of the adoptee

Required in writing (AS 25.23.040(b)). The separate six item consent list in AS 25.23.040(a), covering the mother, father, custodian, court, a minor aged 10 or more, and the minor's spouse, applies only to a petition to adopt a minor.

Consent of the adoptee's spouse

Required in writing on the face of AS 25.23.040(b), with no exception stated in that subsection. The court may waive it under AS 25.23.050(a)(9) for prolonged unexplained absence, unavailability, incapacity, or an unreasonable withholding of consent.

The adopting person's spouse

Joinder or consent, your choice. A couple may petition together (AS 25.23.020(a)(1)), or a married person may petition alone where the adoptee is an adult and the other spouse consents (AS 25.23.020(a)(4)(C)). A joining spouse becomes a parent of the adoptee; a consenting spouse does not.

Birth parents

No consent and no notice. AS 25.23.050(a)(7) dispenses with the consent of a parent of a person 18 or more years of age, and AS 25.23.050(b) withholds notice from a person whose consent is not required. The notice carve back in AS 25.23.100(a) does not list paragraph (a)(7).

Guardian or conservator route

Where the adult is incapacitated, AS 25.23.040(b) allows the written consent to be executed by that adult's guardian or conservator. Alaska supplies a substitute consent giver instead of making disability a condition of eligibility.

Court and venue

Superior court (AS 25.23.240(5)). File in the judicial district where the petitioner or the person being adopted resides or is in military service (AS 25.23.030(a)). The court may transfer, stay, or dismiss in the interest of substantial justice (AS 25.23.030(b)).

Residency

No durational requirement. AS 25.23.080(b)(4) requires the petition to state the duration of the petitioner's residence, but that is a pleading item and not a minimum period. The venue connection may come from either party.

Filing fee

$100 upon filing an adoption proceeding in the superior court (Administrative Rule 9(b)(3)), confirmed by the Alaska Court System fee table. Certifying a document later costs $10, and one certified copy of the final decree is free (Administrative Rule 9(e)(2)).

Investigation and home study

Not required where the person to be adopted is an adult, unless the court directs otherwise (AS 25.23.100(g)). Separately, AS 25.23.100(i) lets the court order an appropriate investigation in an adult case. The chapter imposes no background check or fingerprint requirement.

Hearing

Neither party must be present unless the court orders it (AS 25.23.120(a)). Hearings are held in closed court (AS 25.23.150(a)). The court may issue the decree once it finds the consents obtained or excused and the adoption in the adoptee's best interest (AS 25.23.120(c)).

Name change

Handled inside the adoption. The caption designates the person being adopted by the name they will be known by if the petition is granted (AS 25.23.080(a)), and the clerk prepares a birth certificate application in that name on request (AS 25.23.170).

Inheritance

Full parent and child inheritance with the adopting parent as if the adoptee were a blood descendant (AS 25.23.130(a)(2)), and a stranger to the birth family for inheritance unless the decree specifically provides for continuation of those rights (AS 25.23.130(a)(1)). AS 13.12.114 governs intestate succession and controls over AS 25.23.130 where they conflict.

Forms

Statewide forms exist and sit in the probate series: P-405 Adoption Petition, P-415 Adoption Consent for a parent, spouse, or guardian, and P-440 Request for Certificate of Adoption. The report of expenditures on form P-406 is not required for an adult adoption.

Challenging the decree

After one year a decree may not be questioned on any ground, including fraud or lack of jurisdiction, with one exception written for adults: the window stays open where the adult had no knowledge of the decree within that year (AS 25.23.140(b)).

Suggested Compliance Checklist

Confirm the adoptee is an adult and pick your spousal route

Before you draft anything days after starting

Check the adoptee has reached majority under AS 25.20.010, then decide between petitioning jointly with your spouse under AS 25.23.020(a)(1) and petitioning alone on their consent under AS 25.23.020(a)(4)(C). Only a joining spouse becomes a legal parent of the adoptee.

Identify every consent AS 25.23.040(b) requires

Before the petition is drafted days after starting

You need written consent from the adult, and from the adult's spouse if there is one, or from the guardian or conservator of an incapacitated adult. If a spouse cannot or will not sign, read the waiver grounds in AS 25.23.050(a)(9) before filing.

Prepare the consent forms

With the petition days after starting

Court form P-415, Adoption Consent (Agreement) for a parent, spouse, or guardian, carries the adoptee's spouse's signature and your own spouse's consent. Attorney review of the completed consents is available through DocDraft.

Draft the adoption petition on form P-405

With the consents days after starting

Check adult child in section II(a) and include everything AS 25.23.080(b) requires, including the name to be used for the adoptee and a description and estimate of value of any property the adoptee owns. The petition must be signed and verified under oath.

Decide what the decree should say about inheritance

Before filing days after starting

AS 25.23.130(a)(1) cuts the inheritance tie to the birth family unless the decree specifically provides for continuation of those rights, so the request has to be made rather than assumed. Read it alongside AS 13.12.114, which states it controls on conflict.

File in the superior court and pay $100

When the papers are signed days after starting

File in the judicial district where you or the adoptee resides or is in military service (AS 25.23.030(a)) and pay the $100 fee in Administrative Rule 9(b)(3). Form P-405 also instructs a non stepparent petitioner to mail a copy to the Office of Children's Services.

Watch for an ordered investigation or hearing appearance

After filing days after starting

No investigation is required for an adult under AS 25.23.100(g), but AS 25.23.100(i) lets the court order one. Attendance is not required unless the court orders it (AS 25.23.120(a)). Ask the clerk for the free certified copy of the decree afterwards.

Task	Description	Document	Days after starting
Confirm the adoptee is an adult and pick your spousal route	Check the adoptee has reached majority under AS 25.20.010, then decide between petitioning jointly with your spouse under AS 25.23.020(a)(1) and petitioning alone on their consent under AS 25.23.020(a)(4)(C). Only a joining spouse becomes a legal parent of the adoptee.	-	Before you draft anything
Identify every consent AS 25.23.040(b) requires	You need written consent from the adult, and from the adult's spouse if there is one, or from the guardian or conservator of an incapacitated adult. If a spouse cannot or will not sign, read the waiver grounds in AS 25.23.050(a)(9) before filing.	-	Before the petition is drafted
Prepare the consent forms	Court form P-415, Adoption Consent (Agreement) for a parent, spouse, or guardian, carries the adoptee's spouse's signature and your own spouse's consent. Attorney review of the completed consents is available through DocDraft.	-	With the petition
Draft the adoption petition on form P-405	Check adult child in section II(a) and include everything AS 25.23.080(b) requires, including the name to be used for the adoptee and a description and estimate of value of any property the adoptee owns. The petition must be signed and verified under oath.	-	With the consents
Decide what the decree should say about inheritance	AS 25.23.130(a)(1) cuts the inheritance tie to the birth family unless the decree specifically provides for continuation of those rights, so the request has to be made rather than assumed. Read it alongside AS 13.12.114, which states it controls on conflict.	-	Before filing
File in the superior court and pay $100	File in the judicial district where you or the adoptee resides or is in military service (AS 25.23.030(a)) and pay the $100 fee in Administrative Rule 9(b)(3). Form P-405 also instructs a non stepparent petitioner to mail a copy to the Office of Children's Services.	-	When the papers are signed
Watch for an ordered investigation or hearing appearance	No investigation is required for an adult under AS 25.23.100(g), but AS 25.23.100(i) lets the court order one. Attendance is not required unless the court orders it (AS 25.23.120(a)). Ask the clerk for the free certified copy of the decree afterwards.	-	After filing

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