What is the average age that your are officially not up for adoption anymore...?

Question

Like, if you were a kid in an orphanage or something, and you grow up to be 17, are you an adult yet, or do you have to be 18? Because wouldn't it be weird if an 18 year old could adopt a 17 year old?

Answer 1

18 is the average age th child leaves but by law they could stay untell any age.

Answer 2

They give kids a choice when they are like 14 on up whether they still want to be adopted or not. I suppose this varies by place too.  Also, they make sure the adoption is a match.  A 17 year old would have to be related to that person to be adopted by someone say 25.  A guy on our police force (well, his wife too) adopted a 17 year old a few years ago (they were in their 50s).  He was a good kid and now had a family to fall back on and it made a huge difference in his life.  He's graduating college next year. Normally, the day a kid turns 18 in foster care, he's just on his own with no support.  Imagine if your folks kicked you out and said, OK..I'm done?  Not easy being a foster kid.

You can also adopt an adult,  and the only requirement is that the adoptee is younger than the adopter (Technically, it's not a requirement, but the judge is less likely to approve it).  You might think that is weird, but along with adoption, comes rights of inheritance, medical care decisions, health insurance (for a few years anyway) and such and they go both ways.

Answer 3

in the US you can be adopted at any age

Answer 4

You are in state custody and "up for adoption" up until your 18th birthday. But kids are labeled as "unadoptable" long before that because the older a child gets without being adopted the less likely it is they will ever be adopted.

Answer 5

18

Answer 6

As others have said, it can be done at any age that people want to adopt at.  If over 18, both parties have to agree to the adoption.  But generally speaking, most children are emancipated after they turn 17 or graduate from high school.  If you are still a ward of the state at that time, the state will usually help you get set up with a place to live and a job.  I'm sure it can vary from state to state, and even situation to situation.  Good luck in whatever your wish is!!

Answer 7

Believe it or not, anyone of any age can be adopted in the United States.

Answer 8

I am answering this just in case you are a teen/child in foster care.  Some teens in foster care are able to stay in foster care, a group home, or in independent living apartments until they are 21.  Some states will allow for this because if a child has pretty much grown up in foster care, which is all too common in the U.S., then this teen may not have any other "family" or resources other than the system.  Some states will even pay for the foster teen to go to college, or pay for training, in order to give this teen a boost at a productive life, with this opportunity.  Considering all the abuse, disruptive placements, lack of family, and other disgraces, it is the least the government can do!  If this is your case, or any other foster teen's situation, good luck to you!

Answer 9

There was a 36 year old who was adopted out to a family...so pretty much any age.