                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

ADOPTION OF CERTAIN PERSONS EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE OR OVER (§ 63.2-1243)

A petition may be filed in circuit court by any natural person who is a resident
of this Commonwealth (i) for the adoption of a stepchild eighteen years of age
or over to whom he has stood in loco parentis for a period of at least three
months; (ii) for the adoption of a close relative, as defined in § 63.2-1242.1,
eighteen years of age or older; (iii) for the adoption of any person eighteen
years of age or older who is the birth child of the petitioner or who had
resided in the home of the petitioner for a period of at least three months
prior to becoming eighteen years of age; or (iv) for the adoption of any person
eighteen years of age or older, for good cause shown, provided that the person
to be adopted is at least fifteen years younger than the petitioner and the
petitioner and the person to be adopted have known each other for at least one
year prior to the filing of the petition for adoption. Proceedings in any such
case shall conform as near as may be to proceedings for the adoption of a minor
child under this chapter except that:

a. No consent of either parent shall be required; and

b. The consent of the person to be adopted shall be required in all cases.
			Any interlocutory or final order issued in any case under this section shall
have the same effect as other orders issued under this chapter; and in any such
case the word &#8220;child&#8221; in any other section of this chapter shall be
construed to refer to the person whose adoption is petitioned for under this
section. The entry of a final order of adoption pursuant to this section which
incorporates a change of name shall be deemed to meet the requirements of &#xA7;
8.01-217.
			The provisions of this section shall apply to any person who would have been
eligible for adoption hereunder prior to July 1, 1972.

HISTORY: Code 1950, § 63-348.1; 1950, p. 441; 1954, c. 489; 1964, c. 139; 1968,
c. 578, § 63.1-222; 1972, c. 823; 1974, c. 337; 1979, c. 339; 1985, cc. 298,
300; 1988, c. 53; 1995, cc. 772, 826; 2000, c. 830, § 63.1-219.50; 2001, c.
236; 2002, c. 747; 2006, cc. 825, 848.