Yes. Colorado allows one adult to adopt another through a court process under C.R.S. 14-1-101, and the consent that controls is the consent of the adult being adopted rather than a birth parent. If that adult files a written disclaimer instead, the statute requires the court to dismiss the petition.
That single rule explains why adult adoption is so much simpler than adopting a child, and it also explains why families sometimes expect more from it than it delivers. The decree creates a legal parent and child relationship for inheritance purposes. It does not automatically resolve estate, benefits, immigration, or tax questions, and those need their own analysis.
Who can adopt an adult in Colorado?
The statute is broad. Any person who wants to adopt an adult as an heir at law may file a petition in the juvenile court of the county where the petitioner lives or where the person to be adopted lives. [1] In most Colorado judicial districts the district court hears these cases, because Denver Juvenile Court is the state’s only separate juvenile trial court. [2]
There is no requirement in the adult adoption statute that the petitioner be married, that the petitioner be a certain number of years older, or that the two people have lived together. What the court is looking at is whether the statutory steps were followed and whether the adult being adopted has consented.
Why do families use adult adoption?
The reasons are usually part legal and part personal, and both are legitimate. These are the patterns we see most often in Colorado.
- Formalizing a stepparent relationship. A stepparent who raised someone but never adopted them as a minor, often because a birth parent would not consent.
- Former foster and kinship relationships. A young adult who aged out of a placement and wants the family bond legally recognized.
- Inheritance and estate planning. Adult adoption establishes inheritance rights under § 14-1-101, although wills, trusts, beneficiary designations, and other estate documents should be reviewed separately.
- Adults with disabilities. Families who want a permanent legal relationship, often alongside a guardianship or conservatorship rather than instead of one.
- Recognition of a lifelong bond. An adult who considers someone their real parent and wants the record to say so.
Does the biological parent have to consent?
No. The adult adoption statute requires that a summons issue and be served on the person sought to be adopted, and that this person file a written answer within the time required by the summons, either consenting or denying and disclaiming any desire to be adopted. Nothing in the statute calls for notice to or consent from that adult’s biological parents.
If the adult is not competent to consent, a legally qualified conservator or other representative may consent on their behalf. If the adult files a disclaimer, the court must dismiss the petition, and there is no best interests analysis that overrides that choice.
This is the sharpest difference between adult adoption and the consent and termination requirements that govern the other types of adoption in Colorado, where a birth parent’s rights are central to the case.
Can a stepparent adopt an adult stepchild?
Yes, and this is one of the most common uses of the statute. Because the adult stepchild gives their own consent, the birth parent who blocked a stepparent adoption years earlier has no role in the adult proceeding.
Families sometimes assume the window closed at the child’s eighteenth birthday. It did not. The statute simply changes which door you walk through and whose signature matters.
What are the filing and hearing steps?
The Colorado Judicial Branch publishes a standard form set for adult adoption, and you need a complete set for each adult you want to adopt. [3] The sequence is short.
| Form | Name | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| JDF 528 | Petition for Adult Adoption | Opens the case in the juvenile court of the petitioner’s county or the adoptee’s county |
| JDF 530 | Notice and Summons | Served on the adult to be adopted unless consent and waiver are filed with the petition |
| JDF 529 | Answer and Consent | The adult to be adopted waives service and states consent, or disclaims the adoption |
| JDF 531 | Decree (Adult Adoption) | The order the court signs granting the adoption |
Once the court receives the answer and consent, it reviews the filings and may grant the adoption and sign the decree. Many of these cases are decided on the paperwork rather than at a contested hearing. Filing fees change over time, so confirm the current amount and any fee waiver option with the court where you file.
Does adult adoption affect inheritance?
It changes the default. On the filing of consent, the statute directs that the petition be granted and a decree entered declaring the adopted person the heir at law of the petitioner, entitled to inherit from the petitioner as if that person had been the petitioner’s child born in lawful wedlock.
That language is about inheriting from the petitioner. It does not tell you how a specific trust drafted decades ago defines “issue,” how a retirement plan beneficiary designation will read, or how another state will treat the relationship. If inheritance is the point of the adoption, have the estate documents reviewed alongside the petition rather than after the decree.
Benefits, immigration, and tax consequences are separate questions entirely. Adult adoption is not a shortcut to any of them, and each one is governed by its own rules and its own agency.
Is a home study required?
No. The adult adoption statute does not require a home study, an agency placement, a background investigation, or a report to the court, and the Judicial Branch instructions for adult adoption list only the petition, summons, answer and consent, and decree.
This is why adult adoption can move quickly compared with a minor adoption. The court is confirming consent and jurisdiction, not evaluating a placement.
One caution. This reflects what the statute and the statewide forms require, and an individual court can still ask for more information before it signs a decree. Confirm local expectations with the court where you file.
What the decree does and does not change
| Question | What Colorado law says |
|---|---|
| Legal relationship | The decree declares the adopted adult the heir at law of the petitioner |
| Name | The decree may or may not change the adopted person’s name, as the court deems advisable |
| Birth certificate | The adult adoption statute does not provide for an amended birth certificate; confirm records questions before relying on them |
| Proof of status | The decree or a certified copy may be used as primary evidence of the adopted person’s status in any court |
| Consent of birth parents | Not required by the adult adoption statute |
| Estate, benefits, immigration, tax | Not resolved by the decree; each requires separate advice |
Talk it through with Johnson Law Group
Adult adoption is one of the shorter roads in family law, and it is also one where families most often assume a decree does more than it does. A short conversation before you file usually tells you whether this is the right tool for what you are actually trying to accomplish.
Money disputes and family transitions rarely resolve themselves, and the families who do best are usually the ones who got a clear read on their options early. Johnson Law Group handles Colorado family law matters from offices along the Front Range, and we will tell you plainly what the law does and does not allow in your situation.
Your case is assigned to attorneys who work these issues every week, and you can read about the background and credentials of our family law attorneys before you decide who to call.
We meet clients in person and by video, and you can find the closest of our offices when you are ready to schedule.
Call (720) 640-8463 to schedule a no-pressure consultation. We will walk you through the process, explain what the court will look at, and give you a concrete next step.
This article is general information about Colorado law and is not legal advice. Outcomes depend on the specific facts of your case, the terms of your own orders, and the judge assigned to your matter. Speak with a Colorado family law attorney before acting.
Sources
[2] Colorado Judicial Branch – Denver Juvenile Court is a separate trial court; other judicial districts are combined courts | https://www.coloradojudicial.gov/courts/trial-courts/denver-juvenile
[3] Colorado Judicial Branch – Adult Adoption self-help instructions and forms JDF 528, 529, 530, and 531 | https://www.coloradojudicial.gov/self-help/adult-adoption