Determined

Adoption

If you are intending to adopt a child or make arrangements to have a baby through a surrogate mother, we can help you prepare the applications, support you in court and arrange representation i.e. a barrister for any hearings.

Adoption

The process of adoption transfers the legal parentage of a child permanently from its birth parents, (usually), to the new, adoptive parents. The adoptive parents then have full parental responsibility for the child - the birth parents give up parental responsibility completely.

Step parents

In situations where a step parent wishes to adopt his or her wife's, husband's or civil partner's children, there are two possibilities:

  • you can make a single application, which gives the step parent parental rights over the child, but extinguishes the parental rights of the other parent
  • you can make a joint application. However, the birth parent then becomes an adoptive parent, rather than a biological one

We can advise you on the implications of each option, to help you make the best choice for your circumstances.