An adult may adopt another adult by filing a petition requesting the adoption with the judge of the circuit court, together with an agreement in writing that the person being adopted shall be treated in all respects as a natural child of the petitioner. Written consent of the adopted person shall also be required. It shall be a further prerequisite that the person being adopted shall have lived in the home of the adoptive parent for a period of at least six months while the person being adopted was under twenty-one years of age, and this fact shall appear in the petition. If the person being adopted is the biological child of the adoptive parent, the prerequisite of living in the home of the adoptive parent during the person’s minority is waived.

Terms Used In South Dakota Codified Laws 25-6-18

  • Person: includes natural persons, partnerships, associations, cooperative corporations, limited liability companies, and corporations. See South Dakota Codified Laws 2-14-2
  • written: include typewriting and typewritten, printing and printed, except in the case of signatures, and where the words are used by way of contrast to typewriting and printing. See South Dakota Codified Laws 2-14-2

Source: SDC 1939, § 14.0406 as added by SL 1961, ch 216; SL 2015, ch 146, § 1; SL 2019, ch 122, § 1.