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How to Adopt an Adult in Delaware

Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team · Delaware · Last updated November 13, 2026

In Delaware, an adult adoption is a Family Court decree that makes one adult the permanent legal parent of another adult, with the inheritance and next of kin consequences that follow, and that decree cannot issue until the adult being adopted appears in court and consents. Everything else in 13 Del. C. 951 to 956 is brief. Anyone over 18 may be adopted, with no category list, no relationship test and no minimum age gap. Three kinds of petitioner may file: one person alone, a married couple together, or an unmarried couple who live together and hold themselves out as a couple. A married person may petition alone, because the adult sections ask nothing of either spouse, and birth parents neither consent nor receive notice. File in the Family Court of the county where you or the adult being adopted lives, with no minimum period of residence. The court publishes a statewide set of adult adoption forms: the petition, a consent affidavit for each side, an order setting the hearing, and the final order. Attach a certified copy of the adoptee's birth certificate. At the hearing, held in a courtroom or by video, both sides confirm consent. The decree can give the adoptee a new name, yet the court does not remove birth parents from the birth certificate. No home study appears in the adult sections. The Family Court cost schedule lists $90 for a civil filing plus a $10 security assessment on adoption petitions, so confirm the total with the clerk. Attorney review of your documents is available through DocDraft.

Find out where you stand in Delaware

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Who can be adopted as an adult in Delaware?

Any person over 18 may be adopted under 13 Del. C. 951, and the adult subchapter is titled for persons 18 years of age or over. Delaware attaches no category list, no relationship or disability test, and no minimum age difference. One petition may name more than one adult to be adopted.

Does the person being adopted have to appear in a Delaware court?

Yes. Under 13 Del. C. 953 the Family Court may grant the decree only if the person to be adopted appears in court and consents. The court's hearing order directs both the petitioner and the adoptee to appear, in a courtroom or by video, to establish that each of them consents.

Does my spouse have to join or consent to an adult adoption in Delaware?

No. Section 951 allows any person to petition individually, and a married couple may petition jointly if both wish to. The adult adoption sections contain no consent, joinder or notice requirement for the petitioner's spouse or for the adoptee's spouse. The court's petition form does ask each petitioner's marital status.

Where do I file an adult adoption in Delaware?

File in the Family Court of the county where any petitioner or the adult being adopted lives (13 Del. C. 951), meaning New Castle, Kent or Sussex County. The adult sections set no minimum period of residence. Adoption matters are heard privately under Family Court Civil Rule 111(a).

Delaware adult adoption at a glance

An adult adoption in Delaware is a Family Court decree after which all the duties, rights, privileges and obligations between parent and child exist between you and the adult you adopt, as if that adult were your natural offspring (13 Del. C. 954). The distinctive feature is the hearing. Section 953 lets the court grant the decree only when the adult being adopted appears in court and consents, and the adult sections offer no route for a guardian or anyone else to consent in that adult's place. Eligibility is otherwise open to anyone over 18. An unmarried couple who cohabit may petition together, a married person may petition alone, and birth parents have no role. The decree can rename the adoptee, but birth parents stay on the birth certificate.

An unmarried Sussex County couple adopting two grown siblings in one case

Dana and Luis have shared a home near Georgetown for nineteen years without marrying, and the brother and sister they took in as teenagers are now 24 and 27. Section 951 lets a nonmarried couple petition jointly because they cohabit and present as a couple, and it speaks of adopting a person or persons, so one case can cover both siblings; ask the clerk whether to complete a separate form for each. Each sibling signs a consent affidavit, and a certified birth certificate goes in for each. At the hearing, held by video, both siblings appear and consent. The younger sibling takes the family surname, so her final order directs Vital Statistics to change her name, while her birth parents remain on the certificate. Attorney review of your documents is available through DocDraft.

Relevant Laws

13 Del. C. 951 to 956 (adoption of persons 18 years of age or over)

The whole of Delaware's adult adoption law. Section 951 sets who may petition and the county of filing, 952 the petition contents, 953 the hearing appearance, consent and name in the decree, 954 the parent and child effect, 955 the court record, and 956 the costs.

13 Del. C. 903 (eligibility to adopt a child)

Sets the residency, marital status and over 21 rules for adopting a child, then provides that nothing in it affects the right of any person to adopt a person who has reached age 18 under the adult subchapter.

12 Del. C. 508 (adopted persons in intestate succession)

Defines child as an individual of any age and provides that an adopted person is the child of the adopting parent and not of the natural parent, except where the adopter is the spouse of a natural parent.

Family Court Civil Rule 111 (termination of parental rights and adoption)

Requires adoption petitions to conform to the Family Court Civil Rules and the applicable statutes, and provides that all such matters are heard privately, with the parties' identity withheld from published opinions unless the court finds good cause.

Regional Variances

Delaware adult adoption rules at a glance

Who may be adopted

Any person over 18, under a subchapter titled for persons 18 years of age or over (13 Del. C. 951). No category list, no relationship or disability test. One petition may name more than one adult.

Who may petition

One person individually, a married couple jointly, or a nonmarried couple jointly if cohabiting under 13 Del. C. 1512(g) (13 Del. C. 951).

Consent of the person being adopted

Required in person: the decree may issue only if the adult appears in court and consents (13 Del. C. 953). The court's form adds a sworn consent affidavit. No substitute consent route appears in the adult sections.

Petitioner's spouse

No consent and no joinder required. A married person may petition individually under 13 Del. C. 951(1), and a married couple may choose to petition jointly.

Adoptee's spouse

No consent, joinder or notice requirement in 13 Del. C. 951 to 956.

Birth parents

No consent and no notice. Birth parents are not removed from the birth certificate in an adult adoption, according to the Family Court petition form.

Age difference

None, and no minimum petitioner age. The over 21 rule in 13 Del. C. 903 applies to adopting a child.

Court and residency

Family Court of the county where any petitioner or the adoptee lives (13 Del. C. 951). No minimum period of residence. Hearings are private (Family Court Civil Rule 111(a)).

Costs

Costs are taxed on the petitioner (13 Del. C. 956). The Family Court schedule effective July 20, 2026 lists $90 for a civil filing and a $10 security assessment on adoption petitions. Confirm the total with the clerk.

Home study

None in the adult sections or the adult forms. The social study in 13 Del. C. 912 belongs to the subchapter for children.

Name change

Available in the same decree, which states the name the adoptee will use (13 Del. C. 953). The final order can direct Vital Statistics to change the name on the birth certificate.

Inheritance

Full parent and child rights as if natural offspring (13 Del. C. 954). For intestate succession the adoptee is the child of the adopting parent and not of the natural parent, unless the adopter is married to that parent (12 Del. C. 508).

Forms

Statewide Family Court forms: Petition for Adoption of an Adult, two consent affidavits, Order for Hearing, and Final Order of Adult Adoption.

Suggested Compliance Checklist

Confirm the filing county

Before drafting days after starting

Identify the county, New Castle, Kent or Sussex, where any petitioner or the adult being adopted lives (13 Del. C. 951). That Family Court receives the petition.

Choose the petitioner configuration

Before drafting days after starting

Decide whether one person petitions alone, a married couple jointly, or a cohabiting nonmarried couple jointly under 13 Del. C. 951 and 1512(g).

Prepare the Petition for Adoption of an Adult

Before filing days after starting

Complete the statewide form with each adoptee's name, sex and date of birth (13 Del. C. 952), any requested new name, and sworn signatures. Attorney review of the petition is available through DocDraft.

Prepare both consent affidavits

Before filing days after starting

Have the petitioner and the adoptee each sign the matching Family Court consent affidavit before a clerk of court or a notary public.

Order a certified birth certificate

Before filing days after starting

Obtain a certified copy of the adoptee's birth certificate, which the petition form requires as an attachment.

File and pay costs

When the packet is complete days after starting

File with the Family Court clerk and pay the assessed costs (13 Del. C. 956). Confirm the current total against the Family Court Schedule of Assessed Costs.

Appear at the hearing

Date set in the hearing order days after starting

Both the petitioner and the adoptee appear, in a courtroom or by video, to establish consent (13 Del. C. 953). Without the adoptee's appearance and consent, no decree issues.

Update records after the final order

After the decree days after starting

Use the final order to update identity records if the name changed, and review wills and beneficiary designations in light of 13 Del. C. 954 and 12 Del. C. 508.

Frequently Asked Questions

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