III. PROCEDURES FOR THE ADOPTION OF ADULTS
Any person who is eighteen or more years of age may be adopted in accordance with the provisions of N.C.G.S.§48, Article 5. This Article shall apply to the adoption of adults, including married and emancipated minors. In such an adoption, the rights, duties, and obligations of the adoptive parents and the person being adopted are the same as if the adoption had taken place before the adopted person's eighteenth birthday. There is no requirement for any social agency to make investigations and reports to the Court in these proceedings, as is required in the adoption of minors. The standard Petition for Adoption, used in the adoption of minor children, are not used in adult adoptions. Courts are required to forward proceedings in these cases to the Division of Social Services to be permanently filed and indexed. (See Adoption Checklists for Clerk, Appendix I)
