An adoption order is an order made by the court which makes the petitioner, for all intents and purposes, the parent of the child who is the subject of the petition. An adoption order confers parental responsibilities and rights on the petitioner, can extinguish parental responsibilities and rights from those who held them prior to the order being made and can contain such other terms and conditions as the court thinks fit. 

In Scotland, only children can be adopted so, a petition to adopt a child must be made before the child turns 18; it is not possible to petition the court for an adoption order in respect of a person after their 18th birthday.
 
The only limit the law places on who can adopt a child, relates to the age of the petitioner; before an adoption order can be made, the adoptive parent or parents must be over 21 years old. There is no upper age limit. A criminal conviction does not prevent a person from seeking to adopt a child. Nor does a complex personal history. And of course, gone are the days when the law permitted adoption by only heterosexual married couples. Single persons, heterosexual couples - married or unmarried - and homosexual couples - again, married or unmarried - can all seek to adopt. But, this does not mean that anyone can adopt a child. Both the local authority or adoption agency responsible for assessment of prospective adopters and the court itself, is bound to determine the matter with reference to the child’s best interest and in particular, what is the best means of safeguarding and promoting the child’s welfare throughout his or her lifetime. 

Broadly speaking, there are two different categories of person who may seek an adoption order. The first category is individuals or couples who seek to alter the legal status of their relationship with a child for whom they already care, for example, step parents or family members caring for a child.  The second is the individual or couple who seek to adopt a child who is or has been 'in care’ of a local authority, either in the UK or abroad. 
 
Where a person falls within the first category and intends petitioning the court to adopt a child, he or she must give the local authority notice of their intention to so. The local authority must then investigate all of the circumstances and prepare a report for the court addressing, amongst other matters, whether adoption is the best means of safeguarding and promoting the child’s welfare. This report will then assist the court in forming a view as to whether it should make an adoption order and if so, in what terms. 

For those seeking to adopt a child who is or has been ‘in care’, the process can be lengthier and more complex. The individual or couple must first apply to an adoption agency to be assessed as adopters. The adoption agency will then investigate all of the circumstances of the applicant/s and make a recommendation as to their suitability to be adoptive parents. The recommendation is considered by an adoption panel which thereafter makes a recommendation to the adoption agency’s ‘agency decision maker’. The agency decision maker then independently reviews and considers the recommendation of the agency and decides whether or not to approve the applicants as adopters. 

If a person or couple are approved as adopters, the next step is the process of ‘matching’ whereby the agency and the prospective adopter will seek to match a child with the prospective adopter. After a potential match is identified, a further question is referred to the adoption panel and thereafter, the agency decision maker: the question of whether the applicants are suitable to adopt the particular child. If the answer is ‘yes’, at some point following ‘the match’, either with the agreement of the birth parent or with the authority of a Children’s Hearing, the child may be moved to the care of the prospective adopters. 

Thereafter, the prospective adopter will require to petition the court, seeking to have an adoption order made.  In some situations, a ‘direct adoption petition’ will be made to the court soon after the child is placed with the prospective adopters. In other situations, the local authority will first petition the court to have some or all parental responsibilities and rights removed from the birth parent and thereafter, the prospective adopters will petition the court seeking to have an adoption order.

Becoming a parent is life changing and one of the most significant events in a person’s life; becoming an adoptive parent is legally complex too and so it’s important that you seek legal advice at an early stage in the process. 
Our qualified family lawyers can provide you with first-class legal guidance on the adoption process in Scotland. Get in touch with Austin Lafferty Solicitors today.