BASICS OF ALABAMA ADOPTION LAW: WHAT IS AN ADOPTION? WHO MAY ADOPT? WHO CAN BE ADOPTED?
Have you ever wondered how adoption is defined in Alabama? Or what about who is capable of adopting someone? How about even who is eligible to be adopted? The following should help give a brief answer to each of these questions. [1]
WHAT IS AN ADOPTION?
Adoption is the legal procedure through which a minor or adult is recognized by law as being the son or daughter of the adopting adult(s) and as having all of the rights and duties of such relationship, including the right of inheritance. The adoptee takes the name designated by the petitioner(s).
WHO MAY ADOPT?
Any person who is 19 or older. The Adoption Code specifically prohibits discrimination in granting adoptions on the basis of marital status or age.
WHO CAN BE ADOPTED?
The following persons may be adopted:
(1) A minor.
(2) An adult under any one of the following conditions:
a. He or she is totally and permanently disabled.
b. He or she is determined to be mentally retarded.
c. He or she consents in writing to be adopted and is related in any degree of kinship or is a stepchild by marriage.
d. He or she consents in writing to be adopted by an adult man and woman who are husband and wife.
Article by Corey Colbert
Photo by libertygrace0.
[1]Information provided by the Alabama Law Institute for Alabama Probate Judges’ Association and Reese McKinney, Jr. Judge of Probate Montgomery County, Alabama.
