Underlying reasons
Before the legalisation ofUnavailable marriage
Up until the 2000s, same-sex marriage was illegal in the United States, and in many other countries, such as Australia and the UK. Same-sex couples who wished to have the same rights as married couples opted to adopt their partners. Same-sex marriage was legal in some states of the US from the early 2000s, such as San Francisco, Connecticut, and New Jersey. On 26 June 2015, the U.S Supreme Court legalised same-sex marriage in all fifty states in ''Creation of a family unit
Adult adoption was the only means to legally recognise family relationships in countries and states where same-sex marriage was illegal. Two of the motives for same-sex adult adoption were to legally express their commitment to one another and as a means of giving the adopted individual the states of heir at law. This family unity allows same-sex couples which intend to have children, as the child would be related to both, to be able to gain custody of the child if one partner were to die.Property, inheritance and successorship rights
If an unmarried individual dies without writing a will, and has a "child", the adopted child will take all of the adoptor's property. Once adult adoption takes place, inheritance rights are automatic, and no other legal instrument is needed. It is one of the primary purposes of adult adoption, as it makes the adoptees the adoptor's heir. Same-sex couples use this adopting means to ensure that their partner is entitled to take under the will. Same-sex couples have also used adult adoption to protect the possession of valuables, especially following the death of one of the partners. Adult adoption is a technique for ensuring that the same-sex couple inherit theHistory of adult adoption
Adult adoption was originally used as a means of "establishing social relationships and for inheritance reasons". Since the early 1980s, the LGBTQ community has used a different approach in order to gain benefit from their partners, as a result of same-sex couples not being able to legally marry their partners. Adult adoption was relatively rare in the 19th century, but continued to become more popular among same-sex couples who wished to have inheritance rights.In the United States
In the 1980s, the right to adopt in the USA existed only when provided by theProcedure for adult adoption in the 2000s
The adopter and adoptee had to write an agreement where it stated that both parties agreed to "assume toward each other the legal relationship of parent and child and to have all of the rights and be subject to all of the duties and responsibilities of that relationship". The adult adoptee's parents weren't required to consent to the relationship. In California, it was required for the adoptee to be younger than the adopter, but didn't specify how much younger. Once the agreement had been written, parties needed to apply for court approval, stating the nature, length of the relationship, reasons for adopting and a statement outlining why the adoption is on the best interests of both parties. The court would then investigate the circumstances for or against the approval of the adoption and either approve or not the adoption agreement. Once the approval is done and the adoptee and adopter have a legal relationship, the benefits of the adopter become available to the adoptee.In the UK
In 1986, the UK Parliament amended the English Marriage Act to not allow marriages between an adult and their adopted child "in instances when said child has lived in the same household s the parentand been treated by that person as a child of his family". This approach only allows an adoption to take place if there had never been a parent–child relationship. In the United Kingdom, the ''Cases
American cases
In Re Adoption of Robert Paul P
On 16 October 1984, a 57-year-old man petitioned to adopt his 50-year-old partner, as they have been living together for over 25 years. They shared a "homosexual relationship and wanted an adoption for social, financial and emotional reasons". Specifically, they wished to legalise their financial relationships for "estate purposes", and to care for each other when health declined. However, the Family Court continued by defining adoption as "the legal proceeding whereby a person takes another person into the relation of child and thereby acquires the rights and incurs the responsibilities of parent". The court denied the petition, as the couple lacked a parent–child relationship, and concluded that they were attempting to use adult adoption for marriage purposes.In Re Adoption of Swanson
In April 1993, a 66-year-old man petitioned to adopt his 55-year-old male companion of 17 years, in order to "formalise the close emotional relationship" that had already existed between them for several years and to "facilitate their estate planning". They sought adoption to prevent claims on their estates from distant family members. Following their reasons, the court denied their petition as there was no pre-existing parent–child relationship between them. The court defined this as a "violation to Delaware's incest statute", as the parties wanting to enter into this adoption were in an emotional/sexual relationship and there was no pre-existing parent–child relationship between them.In Re Adult Anonymous
A 22-year-old male petitioned to adopt his 26-year-old male lover, in order to create a "legally cognizable relationship to facilitate inheritance rights, the handling of their insurance policies and pension plans and the acquisition of a house". They feared their families would intervene in property distribution, as the adoptee's family didn't approve of their relationship. The court granted adoption, as consensual homosexual activity had been decriminalised and "the best interest of the child did not apply to an adult adoption".Potential considerations
Irrevocability
Irrevocability is one of the reasons why many LGBTQ members choose not to adopt their partners, as, even though the loving relationship may end, the legal relationship remains, which means that an adoption cannot be annulled and the couple will remain legally bound for life. Due to prohibitions on marriage between parents and children, same-sex couples who have been adopted by their partners will be forbidden to marry each other. If the relationship between the couple ends, and the adoptee had already been disinherited by her adopter, they can no longer get the right to inherit from their biological parents, and can only inherit by will.Prosecution for incest
In some states of the US, same-sex couples who adopted their partners could get incest charges, as once the adoption had taken place, there should have only been a parent–child relationship, exposing the couple to prosecution. Until the late 20th century, statutes in the US did not consider sexual relations between adult adopted children to be incest, because the statutes defined incest as having sexual relations with blood relatives. The proposed 1962 version of theDiscontinuation of inheritance rights with natural parents
In most states in the US in the late 1990s, the legal relationship with the adoptee's natural parents would end upon adoption between the two parties taking place. The adoptee would no longer be the legal heir of their biological parents and would no longer inherit from them.References
{{Reflist Same-sex unions LGBT adoption Adult adoption