Is there any jurisdiction, in which one can adopt an adult person?
<p>I'm working on a fiction text that revolves around the idea that many men marry
women like their mothers. I thought that it would be an interesting plot twist,
if a woman adopted the man.</p>

<p>In order for the story to be more or less believable, there must be a legal way
to do it.</p>

<p>Therefore my question: Is there any place on Earth, where a woman could legally
adopt a man roughly her age (30-40 years)?</p>

<p>Yes, this is legal in many US states, perhaps most.  Search for "adult adoption".  For instance, <a href="https://www.courts.state.co.us/Self_Help/adultadoption/" rel="noreferrer">here</a> is the procedure in Colorado.  Also, <a href="https://www.legalzoom.com/articles/can-you-legally-adopt-an-adult" rel="noreferrer">another article</a> on the topic.</p>

<p>Before the advent of same-sex marriage, this used to be a technique for a same-sex couple to legally formalize their relationship; one partner would adopt the other.  <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/19/magazine/the-lost-history-of-gay-adult-adoption.html?_r=0" rel="noreferrer">Here is a New York Times Magazine article about the practice.</a> <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/11/how-marriage-inequality-prompts-gay-partners-to-adopt-one-another/281546/" rel="noreferrer">Here is another article, from The Atlantic.</a>  They even refer to <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Health/gay-man-adopts-partner-avoid-inheritance-tax/story?id=19512067" rel="noreferrer">a case</a> in which the parent was younger than the child.</p>

<p>Absolutely no problem in Germany. It is actually recommended for tax reasons if you are very wealthy, have no children, but say a favourite nephew who is going to inherit everything. By adopting that nephew, a lot of inheritance tax will be saved. It will be easier than adopting a child, because there is no need for some family court to look after the welfare of the child. </p>

<p>You said "roughly the same age". Plenty of people have nephews or nieces roughly the same age as themselves. </p>

parental-rights