Adoption
We can give you expert advice about adoption in cases where social services are asking the court for permission to place a child for adoption.
In circumstances where social services have started court proceedings and feel that it is not possible for children to live with parents or other family members, a decision may be made to ask the court to approve a care plan for permanency outside of the family through adoption. This is particularly the case where children are very young.
If social services decide adoption is an appropriate plan, an application to the court for a placement order may be made. If the court agrees adoption is the right plan after considering all the options, the court may grant a placement order which gives social services permission to place a child for adoption. We can advise you about placement applications.
Following the making of a placement order, a child may be placed with prospective adopters who will in due course make an application to the court for an adoption order. In certain circumstances birth parents may have grounds to ask the court for permission to be involved in the adoption application. Sometimes the court will consider ongoing contact particularly if birth parents do not object to the adoption order all the adopters of already known to the birth parents. We can advise you about these issues.
We also have experience in representing local authority Foster carers, family members or other long term carers who may wish to adopt children for whom they are caring and in respect of which a decision has been made that they cannot return home.
For advice on how adoption matters can be funded, go to ‘funding‘.