Adoption 

How does adoption work?

The first stage is to contact an adoption agency who will send you all the information you need about adopting from them. The agency will then arrange to meet you and from there, if you and the agency both agree to continue, the agency will provide you with an application form for adoption. 

This will then be followed by an assessment which will include a medical examination, a police check, preparation classes and a visit from a social worker. 

The final stage is to go through an adoption court order. Any adopted children must live with you for at least 10 weeks before you can apply for your adoption order.

Once this order has been granted the adoption becomes permanent and the child will have the same rights as if they were your own birth child.

Who Can Adopt?

Adoption is open to anyone who is:

• Over the age of 21
• Single, married or in a civil partnership
• In a partnership but not married
• Has a fixed home in the UK
• Has lived in the UK for at least 1 year before starting the adoption process

The law around adoption doesn’t discriminate based on your sexual orientation, or whether you are a same-sex couple. You also don’t have to be a UK citizen as long as you meet the criteria above.

However, if the parents of a child who is up for adoption can still be found, they have full parental rights. This means they must agree to the adoption taking place.

Theoretically, an adoption could be stopped if the child’s birth parents did not consent to them being adopted by an LGBT parent.

How Long Does It Take to Adopt?

This very much depends on whether you choose to adopt a child from within the UK, or from overseas, whether there are any children available to be adopted, and the court’s availability to approve your court adoption order.

Typical timescales are:

ADOPTING A CHILD IN THE UK – 11 months minimum

• Getting approved for adoption – 6 months
• Finding a child to adopt – 0 to 6 months
• Child must live with you for 10 weeks
• Approval of the adoption order – 6 weeks to 1 year, depending on the court’s availability

ADOPTING A CHILD FROM OVERSEAS – 11 months to 3+ years

• Getting approved for adoption – 6 months
• Finding a child to adopt – 0 months to several years
• Child must live with you for 10 weeks to 6 months depending on where they are from
• Approval of the adoption order – 6 weeks to 1 year, depending on the court’s availability

If adopting a child from overseas, the process can take even longer if the child’s country of origin has a stringent adoption procedure.

How Can A Lawyer Help With Adoption?

A lawyer will help you to gain legal guardianship of a child that isn’t biologically yours. They can also help you file any necessary paperwork and can represent you in court if necessary. Adoption lawyers should give advice on not only the adoption process but on any disputes that arise during the adoption.

For example, if the birth parents of a child were to dispute an application to adopt their child, they would need to advise the court why they felt it was not appropriate for the applicant’s request to be approved. The court will always look to ensure that the adoptive child’s best interests are looked after, but these can be lost to both the birth parents and applicant when emotions are stirred.

An adoption lawyer will remove emotions from the equation and help to persuade the court of the best action to take from a legal perspective.