Child Care Videos

Adoption is a way of providing a new family for children who cannot be brought up by their own parents for a number of reasons. It is a legal procedure in which all of the parental responsibility is taken away from birth parents and transferred to the adopters. The process can become quite complicated especially when dealing with interventional adoption and therefore it is imperative to seek legal advice at the onset.

In order to adopt you do have to satisfy certain criteria.

The first step in seeking to adopt a child is to apply to an adoption agency or via a local authority. After initial checks and registration is completed a formal assessment is undertaken and a detailed report is prepared by a social worker. This is presented to an adoption panel who make the final decision as to whether you would be approved as a prospective adopter.

The child will usually need to have been placed for 10 weeks after which a court application can be made seeking an Adoption Order. This will transfer all parental rights from the birth parents to adoptive parents. In some instances parents will not agree to adoption and in such circumstances the court can override their wishes. In many cases, the question of consent is usually dealt with by the court before a child is placed before adoption.

The criterion for international adoption is different. You can adopt a child from overseas if:

• they can’t be cared for in a safe environment in their own country
• the adoption would be in their best interests
• the adopter has been assessed as eligible and suitable to adopt from overseas by an adoption agency in the UK

At Duncan Lewis we have a number of specialist lawyers who can assist in dealing adoption matters. Many of our experienced lawyers are members of the Law Society Children Panel.

To speak to one of our experienced lawyers please call on 0207 923 4020 or visit us at: www.duncanlewis.com.  We look forward to hearing from you