For many people, adoption is a good way to fulfil your dream of having a child of your own. Adopting a child that has been surrendered by their birth parents means that you can give them a chance to have a loving family and home.
It might be that you do not want your own children or are unable to have them, or you may have children already and want to add to your family and adopt a child in need of a loving family home.
In order to adopt a child, there are lots of processes in place to ensure that it is done legally and with the child’s best interests as a priority, and before you go down this route, it is worth finding a solicitor who specialises in family law, like this family law Gloucester based solicitor to help you through the process.
The process of adoption can take quite a long time. There are lots of things that need to be done beforehand to help ensure that the child ends up with a loving home. The first step in the process once you have decided that adoption is the path that you want to go down, is to complete the adoption forms. At this point, you should get the help and advice of your solicitor as you don’t want to make a mistake with the forms.
Once you have filled out the adoption forms, a social worker will get in touch with you and they will speak with you and your family and get to know you and your background. This is another part of the process which can take time, but it needs to be thorough as the courts will take the report from the solicitor into account when they are making the decision on the child’s adoption.
Once the courts have ruled that you are able to adopt the child, then the birth parents of the child will not have legal parental responsibility any longer and you will legally be the child’s parent or if you are a couple parents. Be aware that this can be quite an emotional journey, and there are sometimes setbacks, so having support and counselling along the way is also a good idea to help you to cope.