I am a law school graduate. What I offer is mere information, not to be construed as forming an attorney client relationship.
MUST THE CHILD BE A MINOR TO BE ADOPTED?
No. A person may adopt an adult as his/her child, if permitted under the state's law. There may be special advantages to adopting an adult as a child, such as avoiding generation-skipping transfer tax when a person wants to provide the bulk of his/her estate upon death to a friend who is many years younger. Another example may occur as a result of a state rule, such as the rule in California, that real property acquired by a child is not reassessed for tax purposes after the death of a parent (but the transfer would trigger property tax reassessment if the recipient were not the child of the decedent). Other factors, such as long-term emotional bonds, may cause one adult to adopt another adult as his/her child.
To check for your state: got to the freeadvice.com homepage. At the top, click on state statutes and then click on your state and then do a keyword search for adoption or look under the family code section of your state.
Hope this helps.