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How to Adopt an Adult in Massachusetts

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

Massachusetts lets one adult become the permanent legal parent of another adult by Probate and Family Court decree, then withholds succession to property from that decree. M.G.L. c.210 section 6 gives the adopted person every right, duty and legal consequence of the natural relation of child and parent, except as regards succession to property. The adoption chapter's own succession provisions, sections 7 and 8, were repealed in 2012. Inheritance now runs through c.190B section 2-114, under which an adopted individual is the child of the adopting parent and not of the natural parents, and under which the court may decree that succession rights vest as of the date the adoption petition was filed. That back dating has to be requested. Eligibility, by contrast, is wide open. Section 1 lets a person of full age adopt any person younger than themselves, unless that person is their husband or wife. There is no category list, no minimum number of years between you, and no disability or former stepchild requirement. If you are married and your spouse is living and competent to join, that spouse must join the petition rather than simply consent, and the adopted person then becomes the legal child of both. There is no filing fee. You file form CJP 87 in the probate court for the county where you live, with a certified copy of the adult's birth certificate issued within six months. No home study applies, because the section 5A inquiry is triggered only by a petition to adopt a child under fourteen. Attorney review of your paperwork is available through DocDraft.

Find out where you stand in Massachusetts

Who are you hoping to adopt?

DocDraft provides document preparation, not legal advice.

Who can be adopted as an adult in Massachusetts?

Massachusetts sets no category list at all. A person of full age may petition to adopt any person younger than themselves, unless that person is their husband or wife (M.G.L. c.210 section 1). No disability, former stepchild or foster relationship is needed, and no minimum number of years separates the two.

Does the adoption decree transfer inheritance rights in Massachusetts?

Not by itself. M.G.L. c.210 section 6 grants all the legal consequences of the parent and child relation except as regards succession to property. Succession instead runs through c.190B section 2-114, under which the court may decree that succession rights vest as of the date the adoption petition was filed.

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

Nothing to file. The Probate and Family Court fee schedule lists the adoption complaint or petition at no fee and no surcharge, and court guidance repeats that there is no filing fee. You still pay the sheriff or constable for service, plus $15 per citation and $5 per summons.

Which court handles an adult adoption in Massachusetts?

The Probate and Family Court. M.G.L. c.210 section 1 directs the petition to the probate court in the county where the petitioner resides. Someone who is not an inhabitant of the Commonwealth files where the person being adopted lives. District and juvenile courts reach only proceedings already pending before them.

Massachusetts adult adoption at a glance

Adult adoption in Massachusetts is a Probate and Family Court order that makes one adult the permanent legal parent of another adult, and every decree must carry the words that the adoption is final and irrevocable (c.210 section 6). Eligibility is open. Any person of full age may adopt any younger person who is not their spouse (c.210 section 1), and nobody has to fit a qualifying category. Two features set the Commonwealth apart. The decree creates the full parent and child relation except as regards succession to property, so inheritance is governed separately by c.190B section 2-114, and the court may vest those rights as of the filing date if you ask. And a person adopted at full age is not freed by the decree from the support duty in c.273 section 20. Filing itself is free.

Adopting the niece you raised, and pinning down the vesting date

Consider an aunt who took in her eleven year old niece after a death in the family and, nearly three decades later, wants the legal record to match. The niece is 39 now and the aunt is 61. Nothing in c.210 section 1 asks the niece to fit a category, since she is younger and is not a spouse. The aunt is married and her husband is living and competent to join, so he must join the petition, and on the decree the niece becomes the legal child of both. The niece consents in writing. They file CJP 87 in their county probate court with her birth certificate and pay nothing. They also ask the court to decree under c.190B section 2-114 that succession rights vest as of the filing date, since section 6 withholds succession from the decree itself. Attorney review is available through DocDraft.

Relevant Laws

M.G.L. c.210 section 1 (who may adopt, who may be adopted, spousal joinder, court)

Lets a person of full age petition the probate court in the county where they reside to adopt any person younger than themselves, unless that person is their husband or wife. Requires a living, competent spouse to join the petition, after which the adoptee is the child of both.

M.G.L. c.210 section 6 (what the decree does, and what it withholds)

Creates all the rights, duties and legal consequences of the natural relation of child and parent except as regards succession to property, allows a discretionary change of name on the petitioner's request, and provides that an adoptee of full age is not freed from the duty in c.273 section 20.

M.G.L. c.190B section 2-114 (succession, and the filing date vesting option)

Makes an adopted individual the child of the adopting parent and not of the natural parents, preserves the tie where a natural parent's spouse adopts, and lets the court decree that succession rights vest as of the date the adoption petition was filed. Sections 7 and 8 of c.210 were repealed in 2012.

M.G.L. c.210 section 5A (investigation and six month residence, both age scoped)

Triggers notice to the department, the suitability inquiry and the six month residence requirement on the filing of a petition for adoption of a child under the age of fourteen, which is why none of them reaches an adult adoption in Massachusetts.

Massachusetts Probate and Family Court: File for adoption

Court filing guidance with a distinct adult track, listing form CJP 87 and a certified copy of the adult's birth certificate issued within six months of filing, and stating that there is no filing fee for an adoption though service costs will vary.

Regional Variances

Massachusetts adult adoption rules at a glance

Who may be adopted

Any person younger than the petitioner, with no category list and no qualifying condition (c.210 section 1). The only exclusion is the petitioner's own husband or wife. The chapter's conditions precedent in section 2A are capped at a child below the age of fourteen, so they do not gate an adult.

Age relationship

An order rule, not a gap. The person adopted must be younger than the petitioner (c.210 section 1), and Massachusetts sets no minimum number of years. One day younger satisfies the statute.

Who counts as an adult

Eighteen. M.G.L. c.4 section 7 defines full age as eighteen years of age or older, minor as under eighteen, and the age of majority as eighteen. Full age is the term c.210 section 1 actually uses for the petitioner.

Consent of the adult being adopted

Required in writing (c.210 section 2), and it is the one section 2 consent that section 3 leaves standing. The consent form prescribed in section 2 is drafted as a post birth surrender, so the instrument an adult signs is a question for the registry or for counsel.

The adopting person's spouse

Must JOIN the petition, not merely consent, where living and competent to join, and on adoption the adoptee is the child of both (c.210 section 1). Joinder may be excused only if absence or separation excuses it, no divorce is pending, and the court finds the petition in the best interests.

The adoptee's spouse

Unresolved on the face of the statute. Section 2 requires the written consent of the adoptee's spouse, while section 3 dispenses with every section 2 consent except the adoptee's own where the person to be adopted is eighteen or older. Attorney review of this point is available.

Birth parents

Section 2 requires the consent of the lawful parents and section 3 appears to dispense with it at eighteen or older. Notice under section 4 then follows whatever the court determines under section 3, and the court tells you whether a citation must be served.

Court and venue

The Probate and Family Court for the county where the petitioner resides (c.210 section 1). A petitioner who is not an inhabitant of the Commonwealth may file where the adoptee resides. No durational residency applies. District and juvenile courts act only in a proceeding already pending before them.

Filing fee

No fee and no surcharge for the adoption petition, per the Probate and Family Court fee schedule. Separately, each citation costs $15 and each summons $5, publication costs fall on the petitioner, and the constable or sheriff's service charge varies.

Investigation and home study

Neither reaches an adult, by age scope rather than by exemption. Section 5A is triggered by a petition to adopt a child under the age of fourteen, and the six month residence requirement sits on the same trigger. There is no express adult waiver clause to quote.

Missing children verification

One sentence of section 5A says that in any petition for adoption the department shall verify that the adoptee is not registered with the federal register for missing children and the central register. It carries no age limiter, unlike the rest of the section. Attorney review of its reach is available.

Name change

Discretionary inside the same decree, on the petitioner's request (c.210 section 6), at no extra charge. The separate change of name proceeding in c.210 sections 12 and 13 is a different action with form CJP 27 and a $150 fee plus a $15 surcharge. Keep the two apart.

Succession to property

Carved out of the decree. Section 6 grants all consequences of the parent and child relation except as regards succession to property, and sections 7 and 8 were repealed in 2012. c.190B section 2-114 governs instead, and the court may vest succession as of the petition filing date.

Obligations that survive for an adult adoptee

Section 6 provides that an adoptee of full age is not freed by the decree from the duty in c.273 section 20, which punishes an adult of sufficient means who unreasonably refuses to support a destitute parent. A minor adoptee would be released. The same sentence also cites c.117 section 6, a chapter repealed in 1991.

Finality and privacy

Every decree must include the words that the adoption is final and irrevocable (c.210 section 6). The judge may hear any adoption petition in chambers, and must do so on a party's request, excluding the general public and anyone not needed as a party or witness.

Forms

One age neutral petition, CJP 87, covers every adoption, and there is no adult specific adoption form. Court guidance does publish a distinct adult filing list. By contrast the separate name change route has an adult specific form, CJP 27, and a minor one, CJP 25.

Suggested Compliance Checklist

Check the two eligibility limits and your own age

Before you draft anything days after starting

Confirm the person you want to adopt is younger than you and is not your husband or wife (c.210 section 1), and that you are of full age, meaning eighteen or older under c.4 section 7. Massachusetts asks nothing else of either of you.

Order a certified birth certificate for the adult being adopted

At least six weeks before filing days after starting

The court wants a certified copy issued within six months of the filing date, so order it early and do not file a stale one. If it will not arrive in time, prepare a motion on form CJD 400 asking leave to file it late.

Decide your spouse's role and get it on the petition

While preparing the petition days after starting

A living, competent husband or wife must join the petition, after which the adopted person is the legal child of both of you (c.210 section 1). If joinder will be excused, identify which ground applies, since the court must make a combined finding.

Prepare the written consent of the adult being adopted

Before filing days after starting

No decree issues without it (c.210 section 2). Because the form prescribed in that section reads as a post birth surrender, confirm with your Probate and Family Court registry what an adult consent should look like. Attorney review of the consent is available through DocDraft.

Complete form CJP 87 and the sworn petitioner statement

With the consent days after starting

Use the Petition for Adoption and Affidavit of Petitioners, CJP 87, the single form Massachusetts uses for every adoption. Add the sworn statement section 6 requires, giving each adopting parent's date of birth and place of residence, since no decree may enter without it.

Draft the two discretionary requests into your papers

With the petition days after starting

Ask for any change of name you want decreed (c.210 section 6), and ask the court to decree under c.190B section 2-114 that succession rights vest as of the filing date. Neither is automatic, and section 6 withholds succession from the decree on its own.

File in the county probate court and plan for service costs

When the papers are signed days after starting

File in the Probate and Family Court for the county where you reside (c.210 section 1). There is no filing fee and no surcharge, but budget for the sheriff or constable, $15 for each citation and $5 for each summons the court issues.

Ask for the hearing in chambers if you want it closed

On or before the hearing date days after starting

Any party may request that the adoption hearing be held in chambers, and the judge must grant that request, excluding the general public and anyone not needed as a party or a witness (c.210 section 6). A contested petition needs the other parties to agree.

Frequently Asked Questions

Other Massachusetts guides

Adverse Possession in Massachusetts: Twenty Years, Unless the Land Is Registered

Asset Protection Planning in Massachusetts (2026)

Dealing With Debt Collectors in Massachusetts (2026)

Expunging a Criminal Record in Massachusetts (2026)

Filing a Workplace Harassment Complaint in Massachusetts

Filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in Massachusetts (2026)

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