Georgia § 19-8-21 - Adoption of adult individuals; applicability of Code Sections 19-8-19 and 19-8-20.

§ 19-8-21. Adoption of adult individuals; applicability of Code Sections 19-8-19 and 19-8-20.

Adult individuals may be adopted on giving written consent to the adoption. In such cases, adoption shall be by a petition duly verified and filed, together with one conformed copy, in the superior court in the county in which any petitioner or the adult to be adopted resides, setting forth the name, age, and residence of each petitioner and of the adult to be adopted, the name by which the adult is to be known, and his or her written consent to the adoption. The court may assign the petition for adoption for hearing at any time. The petition for adoption shall state whether one or both parents of the adult to be adopted will be replaced by the grant of such petition, and if only one parent is to be replaced, then the decree of adoption shall make clear which parent is to be replaced by adoption. After examining each petitioner and the adult to be adopted, the court, if satisfied that there is no reason why the adoption should not be granted, shall enter a decree of adoption and, if requested, shall change the name of the adopted adult. Thereafter, the relation between each petitioner and the adopted adult shall be, as to their legal rights and liabilities, the same as the relation of a parent and adult child. Code Sections 19-8-19 and 19-8-20 shall also apply to the adoption of adults. (Code 1981, § 19-8-21 , enacted by Ga. L. 1990, p. 1572, § 5; Ga. L. 2018, p. 19, § 1-1/HB 159.) The 2018 amendment, effective September 1, 2018, in subsection (a), in the first sentence, substituted "individuals" for "persons" near the beginning, substituted "one conformed copy" for "two conformed copies" near the middle, deleted "either" following "county in which" in the middle, inserted "or her" near the end, in the second sentence, inserted "adoption for", added the third sentence, in the fourth sentence, deleted "sought" following "the adult" near the beginning, in the fifth sentence, inserted "the same as", "a", and "adult" near the end; and substituted "Sections 19-8-19 and 19-8-20" for "Section 19-8-19, relating to the effect of a decree of adoption, and Code Section 19-8-20, relating to notice of adoption," in subsection (b).