Can I adopt an adult friend or partner's relative in Nebraska?

Almost certainly not. Neb. Rev. Stat. 43-101(2) has no route for two consenting adults. Unless you married that person's parent, you must show a parent and child relationship running for six months before their nineteenth birthday plus one of six conditions about their legal parents.

How long does an adult adoption take in Nebraska after filing?

The hearing is set not less than four weeks nor more than eight weeks after the petition is filed, unless a party shows good cause for a continuance or everyone agrees to one (Neb. Rev. Stat. 43-103). That floor of four weeks is statutory, so the hearing cannot be moved up.

Must the adult being adopted have lived with me in Nebraska?

No. The usual condition that the person has resided with the petitioners for six months before the decree is expressly carved out for an adult adoption (Neb. Rev. Stat. 43-109(1)(a)). The pre-majority relationship test in 43-101(2)(b) is about the bond, not a shared address.

Do I need a home study to adopt an adult in Nebraska?

Not by default. An adult adoption under 43-101(2) is exempt from the adoptive home study unless the court specifically orders otherwise, and the judge may order a home study, a background investigation, or both on a best interests finding (Neb. Rev. Stat. 43-107(1)(f)).

Does Nebraska require the adopting parent to be a set number of years older?

No. Nebraska's adoption statutes, 43-101 through 43-115, set no minimum number of years between the parties and do not even require the adoptee to be the younger of the two. What Nebraska regulates instead is when the parent and child bond began, through the pre-majority test in 43-101(2)(b).

Can the decree change the adult adoptee's name in Nebraska?

Yes. The court may decree such change of name for the adopted child as the petitioner or petitioners may request (Neb. Rev. Stat. 43-109(3)). A new birth certificate in the adoptive name follows, unless the court, the adoptive parents or the adopted person asks in writing that none be issued.

How does a Nebraska adult adoption change inheritance rights?

The decree creates the usual parent and child relation with the adopters and their kindred (43-110), and the natural parents lose any claim to the adoptee's property by descent and distribution (43-111). For intestacy the adoptee becomes the adopters' child and not the natural parents' (30-2309(1)).

Which court hears an adult adoption in Nebraska, and where do I file?

The county court of the county where the petitioners reside, with all filings to the clerk of that court (Neb. Rev. Stat. 43-102(2)). There is no durational residency period. Service members stationed at a Nebraska base for the preceding year count as residents of that county (43-102.01).

How to Adopt an Adult in Nebraska

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

What decides a Nebraska adult adoption is usually a date, not a category. Adult adoption here is a county court proceeding that permanently makes one adult the legal parent of another adult, with the inheritance and next of kin consequences that follow, and Neb. Rev. Stat. 43-101(2) opens only two doors to it. If you are married to the adult's parent, you may adopt your adult stepchild with no further conditions. If you are not, that adult must have had a parent and child relationship with you for at least six months immediately before reaching the age of majority, which Nebraska sets at nineteen rather than eighteen (43-2101). One of six conditions about the adult's own legal parents must also hold: no living parents, parental rights terminated by a court, a written relinquishment, abandonment, parents incapable of consenting, or a sole legal parent who consents. There is no route for any two consenting adults. People who met after the younger one turned nineteen cannot be joined by adoption here unless the older one married the younger one's parent. Nebraska then adds no minimum age gap at all. If you are married, your spouse must join the petition as a co-petitioner and the adoption is made by the two of you jointly (43-101(4)). Nothing is asked of the adult adoptee's own spouse. No adoptive home study applies unless the judge orders one (43-107(1)(f)). You file in the county court where you live, pay $37, and the hearing lands four to eight weeks out (43-103). Nebraska publishes no statewide form for any of this. Attorney review of your petition is available through DocDraft.

Find out where you stand in Nebraska

Who are you hoping to adopt?

DocDraft provides document preparation, not legal advice.

Who can be adopted as an adult in Nebraska?

Only two groups. An adult stepchild may be adopted by the spouse of that adult's parent. Anyone else must have had a parent and child relationship with the petitioner for at least six months immediately before turning nineteen, plus one of six listed conditions about their legal parents (Neb. Rev. Stat. 43-101(2)).

At what age does a person become an adult for adoption in Nebraska?

Nineteen. Nebraska declares all persons under nineteen years of age to be minors, although marrying before nineteen ends minority (Neb. Rev. Stat. 43-2101(1)). An unmarried eighteen year old is still a minor here and goes through the minor adoption routes in 43-101(1) instead of the adult routes.

Does a spouse have to be involved in a Nebraska adult adoption?

The petitioner's spouse does. No person with a spouse may adopt an adult child unless that spouse joins in the petition, and the adoption is then made by both of them jointly (Neb. Rev. Stat. 43-101(4)). The adult adoptee's own spouse has no role at all.

What does an adult adoption cost to file in Nebraska?

The Judicial Branch fee schedule totals $37 for an adoption petition, built from a $5 adoption filing fee plus judges retirement, legal services, automation, education, dispute resolution, indigent defense and data analysis fees. Affixing the seal adds $1, and a new birth certificate costs $33 more.

Nebraska adult adoption at a glance

An adult adoption in Nebraska is a county court order that makes one adult the permanent legal parent of another adult, carrying the usual relation of parent and child and all its rights, duties and legal consequences between them and their kindred (Neb. Rev. Stat. 43-110). Nebraska gates it tightly. Outside an adult stepchild adoption, the bond has to predate the adoptee's nineteenth birthday by six months and the adoptee's legal parents have to fall into one of six listed situations (43-101(2)). What Nebraska does not impose is a years of difference rule, a home study, or any requirement that the adult live with you. The petitioner's spouse must join as a co-petitioner, no adoption may leave an adult with more than two legal parents, and the hearing is set four to eight weeks after filing.

Adopting the former state ward you raised, now 24

Take a Lancaster County couple whose foster placement arrived at sixteen and stayed. She turned nineteen in their home, is twenty four now, and wants them on record as her parents. The pre-majority test in Neb. Rev. Stat. 43-101(2)(b) is comfortably met, because the relationship ran for three years before majority, not merely six months. Her birth parents' rights were terminated when she was seventeen, which satisfies condition (ii), so no parental consent is sought. Because the couple is married, both must sign the petition under 43-101(4). No home study is ordered, so 43-107(1)(f) applies untouched. They file in Lincoln with the clerk of the county court, pay $37, ask the decree to change her surname, and appear five weeks later. Attorney review of the petition is available through DocDraft.

Relevant Laws

Neb. Rev. Stat. 43-101(2) (who may be adopted as an adult)

The controlling provision. Permits adoption of an adult child by the spouse of that adult child's parent, and otherwise only where a parent and child relationship ran for at least six months next preceding the adult child's age of majority and one of six parent status conditions is met. Subsection (4) requires spousal joinder and subsection (5) caps the result at two legal parents. Current text took effect July 18, 2026.

Neb. Rev. Stat. 43-2101(1) (age of majority is nineteen)

Declares all persons under nineteen years of age to be minors, with minority ending on marriage below that age. This sets the reference date for the pre-majority relationship test, so an unmarried eighteen year old is a minor and falls outside the adult adoption routes entirely.

Neb. Rev. Stat. 43-102 and 43-103 (county court, filing, hearing window)

Vests jurisdiction in the county court of the county where the petitioners reside, directs all filings to the clerk of that court, requires a petition signed and sworn to by the petitioners with consents on file before the hearing, and sets the hearing not less than four weeks nor more than eight weeks after filing.

Neb. Rev. Stat. 43-107(1)(f) and 43-109 (home study exemption, decree, name change)

Exempts an adult adoption from the adoptive home study unless the court specifically orders otherwise, while allowing a discretionary home study or background investigation. Section 43-109 carves the six month residence condition out for an adult child, requires a best interests finding, and lets the decree change the adoptee's name on request.

Nebraska Judicial Branch filing fees and court costs schedule

The official statewide schedule. Its ADOPTION block totals $37 for a petition, itemized as a $5 adoption filing fee under 33-126.04 plus judges retirement, legal services, automation, education, dispute resolution, indigent defense and uniform data analysis fees, with $1 to affix the seal and $33 to the Bureau of Vital Statistics.

Regional Variances

Nebraska adult adoption rules at a glance

Who may be adopted

A closed list of two routes (43-101(2)). An adult stepchild, by the spouse of that adult's parent. Otherwise only where a parent and child relationship ran at least six months before the adoptee reached majority and one of six parent status conditions is met. No general consenting adult route exists.

Age of majority

Nineteen, not eighteen (43-2101(1)). Marriage below nineteen ends minority. This is the date the pre-majority relationship test counts back from, and it means an unmarried eighteen year old is handled under the minor adoption routes in 43-101(1).

Age differential

None. No minimum number of years between the parties, and no requirement that the adoptee be younger. A scan of all eighteen live sections of the adoption article and definitions, about 37,000 bytes of text, returns zero hits for the word older.

Consent of the adoptee

Not expressly required by the statute. The only adoptee consent clause, 43-104(1)(a), is keyed to a minor child over fourteen years of age, and 43-101(2) adds none for an adult. Whether a county court expects one is not settled by the text, so confirm with the clerk.

Consent of the adopting person's spouse

Joinder, not consent. No person with a spouse may adopt an adult child unless the spouse joins in the petition, and the adoption is then made by both jointly (43-101(4)). The statute states no exception, including none where the spouse is the adult child's own parent.

Consent of the adoptee's spouse

Nothing. All seven occurrences of the word spouse across the adoption article concern a petitioner's spouse, four in 43-101 and three in the military absence clause of 43-108. Nebraska asks the adult adoptee's husband or wife for no consent, no joinder and no notice.

Birth parents

Route dependent. On the sole legal parent condition that parent must file a written consent (43-104(1)(c)). The other five conditions in 43-101(2)(b) are themselves parent status facts tracking the 43-104(4) exceptions. The court may require notice to the natural parents (43-103).

Substitute consents

Switched off by name. 43-101(3) provides that the substitute consent provisions of 43-105 do not apply to adoptions under subsection (2), so neither the department, nor a licensed child placement agency, nor a guardian can supply consent in an adult adoption.

Court and venue

The county court of the county where the petitioners reside, with all filings to the clerk of that court (43-102(2)). A separate juvenile court has concurrent jurisdiction only where it already has jurisdiction over the person under the Nebraska Juvenile Code.

Residency

No durational period for petitioners. Service members continuously stationed at a Nebraska military base for the year immediately preceding filing are deemed residents of the state and that county (43-102.01). The six month residence with petitioners condition does not apply to an adult (43-109(1)(a)).

Filing fee

$37 total on the Judicial Branch schedule, built from the $5 statutory adoption fee in 33-126.04 plus seven per petition charges. Affixing the seal is $1. A new birth certificate through the Bureau of Vital Statistics costs $33 more.

Home study and investigation

Expressly exempt for an adult adoption unless the court specifically orders otherwise, with the judge free to order a home study, a background investigation, or both on a best interests finding (43-107(1)(f)). A medical history condition sits in 43-107(2) and 43-109(1)(b); ask the clerk whether it is applied.

Timing

The hearing is set not less than four weeks nor more than eight weeks after filing, subject to a continuance for good cause or by agreement (43-103). No placement period and no post decree waiting period applies. Petitioners must appear in person (43-108(1)).

Name change

Available in the decree, at the petitioner's request rather than the adoptee's (43-109(3)). A new Nebraska birth certificate in the adoptive name follows under 71-626.01, unless the court, the adoptive parents or the adopted person requests in writing that none be established.

Inheritance

Full, with no carve out for adoption at or after majority. 43-110 creates the usual parent and child relation with the adopters and their kindred, 43-111 ends the natural parents' descent and distribution rights, and 30-2309(1) makes the adoptee the adopters' child for intestacy.

Stepparent inheritance exception

On the adult stepchild route, 30-2309(1) provides that adoption by the spouse of a natural parent has no effect on the relationship between the adoptee and that natural parent, so the adult child keeps the intestate succession tie to the parent married to the adopter.

Statewide forms

None. The Judicial Branch statewide forms index carries no adoption petition, consent, joinder or decree form, and the self help section publishes no adoption guide. You draft the petition or use a packet from the county clerk of the county court where you will file.

Two parent cap

An adoption is not permitted if it would result in a minor or adult child having more than two legal parents (43-101(5)). Read together with the spousal joinder rule in 43-101(4), this limits who can be added when the adult already has a legal parent in place.

Suggested Compliance Checklist

Decide which Nebraska route you qualify under

Before you draft anything days after starting

Confirm you are either the spouse of the adult's parent under 43-101(2)(a), or able to show six months of parent and child relationship immediately before the adult turned nineteen plus one of the six parent status conditions in 43-101(2)(b). Neither one, no petition.

Pin down the pre-majority dates in writing

During eligibility research days after starting

Nebraska majority is nineteen under 43-2101(1). Assemble dated proof that the relationship existed for the six months before that birthday, such as school, medical, placement or household records, because this is the element a county court is most likely to probe.

Collect the sole legal parent consent if that is your condition

Before filing days after starting

Under 43-104(1)(c) the consent must state that the adult child has a sole legal parent and that this parent wishes the adult child to be adopted by a second adult person. Remember that 43-101(3) bars any substitute consent from an agency or guardian.

Add your spouse as a co-petitioner

While drafting the petition days after starting

43-101(4) requires a married petitioner's spouse to join in the petition, making the adoption joint. Check the outcome against the two legal parent cap in 43-101(5) before filing. Attorney review of the petition and joinder is available through DocDraft.

Draft the sworn petition and the name change request

Before filing days after starting

There is no statewide form, so prepare a petition signed and sworn to by each petitioner under 43-102(1), state whether you want the county court to hear it, and include any change of name you want the decree to carry under 43-109(3).

File with the clerk of the county court and pay $37

When the papers are signed days after starting

File in the county court of the county where you reside (43-102(2)) and pay the $37 adoption total on the Judicial Branch schedule, plus $1 for the seal. Budget $33 more if you want a new birth certificate issued.

Appear at the hearing four to eight weeks later

On your hearing date days after starting

43-103 sets the hearing in that window unless continued. Petitioners appear in person under 43-108(1). The court enters a decree on finding the adoption is for the best interests of the adult child (43-109(1)), and may order an investigation first (43-107(1)(f)).

Task	Description	Document	Days after starting
Decide which Nebraska route you qualify under	Confirm you are either the spouse of the adult's parent under 43-101(2)(a), or able to show six months of parent and child relationship immediately before the adult turned nineteen plus one of the six parent status conditions in 43-101(2)(b). Neither one, no petition.	-	Before you draft anything
Pin down the pre-majority dates in writing	Nebraska majority is nineteen under 43-2101(1). Assemble dated proof that the relationship existed for the six months before that birthday, such as school, medical, placement or household records, because this is the element a county court is most likely to probe.	-	During eligibility research
Collect the sole legal parent consent if that is your condition	Under 43-104(1)(c) the consent must state that the adult child has a sole legal parent and that this parent wishes the adult child to be adopted by a second adult person. Remember that 43-101(3) bars any substitute consent from an agency or guardian.	-	Before filing
Add your spouse as a co-petitioner	43-101(4) requires a married petitioner's spouse to join in the petition, making the adoption joint. Check the outcome against the two legal parent cap in 43-101(5) before filing. Attorney review of the petition and joinder is available through DocDraft.	-	While drafting the petition
Draft the sworn petition and the name change request	There is no statewide form, so prepare a petition signed and sworn to by each petitioner under 43-102(1), state whether you want the county court to hear it, and include any change of name you want the decree to carry under 43-109(3).	-	Before filing
File with the clerk of the county court and pay $37	File in the county court of the county where you reside (43-102(2)) and pay the $37 adoption total on the Judicial Branch schedule, plus $1 for the seal. Budget $33 more if you want a new birth certificate issued.	-	When the papers are signed
Appear at the hearing four to eight weeks later	43-103 sets the hearing in that window unless continued. Petitioners appear in person under 43-108(1). The court enters a decree on finding the adoption is for the best interests of the adult child (43-109(1)), and may order an investigation first (43-107(1)(f)).	-	On your hearing date

Frequently Asked Questions

Other Nebraska guides

Adverse Possession in Nebraska: The Ten Year Clock and the Fence Line

Asset Protection Planning in Nebraska (2026)

Dealing With Debt Collectors in Nebraska (2026)

Expunging a Criminal Record in Nebraska (2026)

Filing a Workplace Harassment Complaint in Nebraska

Filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in Nebraska (2026)

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