History Main / AdultAdoptee

* ''[[Film/BenHur1959 Ben-Hur]]''. Juda Ben-Hur is adopted and made a Roman citizen by Quintus Arrius, the tribune whose life he saved.

* ''[[Film/BenHur1959 Ben-Hur]]''. Juda Ben-Hur is adopted and made a Roman citizen by the tribune whose life he saved.

* PlayedForLaughs at the end of ''Film/TheHitmansWifesBodyguard'', when [[spoiler: Sonia tricks Bryce into signing papers he believes are his bodyguarding license. Only belately does he realize that he unwittingly signed adoption papers and is now legally Sonia and Kincaid's son, despite already being an adult in his late 40s. Oh, and she never even discussed with her husband beforehand, shocking both Kincaid and Bryce. [[AnAesop It makes you wonder why Bryce didn't read the papers before he signed them, or even asked what they were.]]]]

* Literature/TheBible: Invoked and inverted, where as Jesus is dying on the cross, he entrusts his aging mother to the care of his disciple John (despite the fact that his brothers are still around to do the job)[[note]]Alternatively, this is taken to imply Jesus was an only child.[[/note]], and afterwards John takes Mary to his home to take care of her.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'': The Warrior of Light, who is old enough to drink, is taken in as a ward of House Fortemps during the events of ''Heavensward'', granting them free access to the otherwise isolated nation. By the end of the expansion, the Warrior is more-or-less adopted as an honorary son or daughter of the House.
** Completing the Sahagin Beast Tribe questline will have Novv name the Warrior an honorary member of his clutch as thanks for all of their help. From then on, the other members of Novv's clutch will proudly refer to the Warrior as "clutchmate". Novv himself is delighted to see the Warrior and refers to them as [[LikeASonToMe "my shorewalker spawnling"]].

** Adopting adults as heirs continue to be a common practice in Japan; an exaggerated example would be Suzuki Motors. When Toshihiro Suzuki succeeded the company's presidency from his father Osamu, it was the first time in ''the company's 106-year history'' that the successor was a biological son of the Suzuki family. Since this is very similar to handpicking a successor from the ranks, [[http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21567419-family-firms-adopt-unusual-approach-remain-competitive-keeping-it-family it is argued that]] this is why the country's family-owned companies continue to be competitive as the SuckSessor trope being defied.

* On June 9, 2015, in Dallas, Texas, at 76 years and 96 days old, Mary Banks Smith [[https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2015/06/09/mom-92-adopts-daughter-76-in-dallas-courtroom/ was adopted]] by her 92-year-old cousin Muriel Banks Clayton, who had cared for her after her father died of a heart attack and her mother was sent to a mental hospital.

* Music/{{Sia}} [[https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/01/entertainment/sia-grandmother-adopted-son-two-babies-intl-scli/index.html adopted two 18-year-old sons who had barely aged out of foster care]], while at the same time [[AbsurdlyYouthfulMother became a grandmother at age 44]].

* The ''Literature/ThrawnAscendancy'' trilogy shows this is par for the course in Chiss family politics, with the most prominent Chiss families seeking to adopt promising or proven members of other families. However, some high-ranking positions require ''leaving'' your family, which is why Admiral Ar'alani[[note]]formerly Irizi'ar'alani aka Ziara[[/note]] has no family name.

* ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/44178163/chapters/111090244 Stone Streak]]'': PlayedForLaughs with the Tiger kwami Roaar proclaiming the Cat kwami Plagg as her kitten. Plagg is annoyed at this, especially since he's a couple of centuries older than her.