At London- based Adam Bernards, our highly skilled family solicitors have the ability and knowledge to help you get through your Adoption we understand that Adoption process can be a tough but we are confident that our legal team can support you with any concerns that you may have and assist you to the best of their abilitieson, via the phone or online.
Adoption is the legal process whereby an individual or couple becomes a child’s parent and are given full legal and parental responsibility even though they are not the child’s biological parents.
The local authority can make a placement order or the child’s parents give up their care and consent to place the child for adoption.
An agency will assess whether you are suitable, there will be a full assessment which involves social worker visits, medical examinations, police checks and personal references.
You must be over 21 years old
Each Applicant must have been habitually resident in part of the British isles for a year and the sole Applicant or at least one of the couple must be domiciled there.
You must not have a criminal conviction or caution for offences against children or serious sexual offences.
The person must be a child at the time of the Application. The child must not have been married or in a civil partnership
The child can be 18 during the proceedings and still be adopted provided the child is adopted before their 19th Birthday
You must go through an agency, it can be part of your local authority
There will be a full assessment of you ( and partner if there is one) involving
Social worker visits
Police checks
Medical checks
References
And need to attend preparation classes
There are certain events that occur where a child cannot live with their biological parents for example if the parents are neglectful or abusive, they have died, have medical problems. If the children are unable to return to their birth parents, the local authority will need to make a decision about where they should live and who should raise them.
If the local authority make a decision for the child to be adopted they will apply to the court for a placement order.
The Adoption order removes parental responsibility from the biological parents and reassigns this to the prospective parents. The court must be satisfied that the prospective parents are the best option for the child. This will arise in four situations
Children who are subject of placement orders, usually I the context of care proceedings
Children being placed for adoption with parental consent, where there will usually not be any prior court proceedings; and
Private applications for adoption, for children living with the Applicants where the child was not placed by them by an adoption agency
As shown above, Our team of family lawyers and divorce solicitors has a wealth of experience across numerous family matters
We will ensure that all aspects of your case are handled sensitively and comprehensively to ensure you have the best prospect of success
We have helped numerous clients achieve the results they desire. Please read through our client testimonies that show our ability in this area of law.
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