Annahme eines Volljährigen Aussprache

If you want to adopt a person of legal age, you and the person you want to adopt can apply to the family court.

You can accept (adopt) a person of legal age as a child if you are seeking a parent-child relationship with the person and this is morally justified. This is particularly assumed if a parent-child relationship already exists between you as the adopter and the person of legal age, for example in the case of a stepchild or foster child. If such a relationship does not yet exist, there must be such a strong emotional bond that a relationship similar to a parent-child relationship can be expected. In addition, the adoption must appear morally justified in view of the purpose pursued. This means that the request for adoption must not violate a moral prohibition and/or must not pursue an exclusively material purpose, such as the avoidance of inheritance tax or the establishment of a right of residence.

In order to adopt the adult as a family member, you and the person concerned must submit an application to the family court.

The adoption of an adult is basically an adoption with weak effect. This means that the relationship between the adopted adult and their biological family is not terminated, only the newly established relationship with the adopters is added.

Under certain conditions and upon application, an adoption with more extensive legal consequences, as is the case for the adoption of minors, is also possible. This is also referred to as a "full adoption" or adoption with "strong effect". This would result in the almost complete legal integration of the adult into your family. This means that the family relationship and thus, among other things, all inheritance and maintenance obligations towards the biological parents are terminated. In the case of a stepchild adoption, the exception to this is the continuing relationship to the remaining parent.

• a notarized application by the adopter and the person of legal age; the applications must not be subject to any conditions or time limits
• if the adopter or adoptee is married or partnered, a notarized declaration of consent from the spouse or partner
• the family court may request further necessary documents; for example, proof of civil status (such as birth or marriage certificates)

• You may adopt a person of legal age as a child if the adoption is morally justified. In other words, the adoption request is based on an existing parent-child relationship or a comparably strong inner bond and does not violate a moral prohibition and/or does not exclusively pursue a material purpose. This is the case, for example, if the person to be adopted has already lived in your family as a minor child.
• The adoption must not conflict with the overriding interests of third parties, for example your biological children.
• According to case law, there should generally be an age difference corresponding to a parent-child relationship (at least 15 years).
• The applications and any necessary consents (e.g. of the spouses) must be in notarized form.

There are:

• Notary fees
• court costs
• Legal fees, if applicable

The respective amount depends on the individual case.

You must submit the required documents and applications (adopter and adoptee) in writing to the local family court. You can also instruct a notary with the submission.

The court will then check whether all the necessary requirements for an adoption have been met, such as

• what relationship exists with the person to be adopted
• whether the adoption is morally justified
• whether the adopter has reached the minimum age required for adoption (21 or 25 years of age)
• whether there is a sufficient age gap to the adoptee
• whether overriding interests of third parties conflict with the adoption; for example, the biological children of the adopter or the adoptee or the parents of the adoptee.

To this end, the court hears the parties involved and, if necessary, other persons.

If the requirements for an adoption of an adult are met, the court will issue a decision to adopt the adult.

There is no deadline.

It is possible to lodge a complaint.

• Acceptance (adoption) of an adult Debate
• Notarized applications by the adopter and adoptee
• Adoption morally justified, especially in the case of an existing parent-child relationship (e.g. foster child/stepchild)
• Responsible: Family court at the local district court

Forms available: No
Written form required: Yes
Informal application possible: No
Personal appearance necessary: No, not for submission to the court, but for notarization of the application before the notary (application in person).

Online services available: No