Legal rights of step-parents, grandparents and other relatives
Adopting a step-child
Adopting step-children - Step-parent adoption represents about half of all adoption applications in the UK each year.
Adopting a step-child is an important step and should not be considered lightly.
As well as giving a step-parent the right of parental responsibility for the child, adoption also severs any legal links the child has to one of their birth parents and that parent's wider family.
This has the effect of removing the child's right to inherit from that birth parent and transfers the right to inherit from the step-parent.
And it could mean ending a child's right to contact with that birth parent and other relatives such as aunts, uncles, granp-parents, cousins and half-brothers and sisters.
Any earlier orders for contact and maintenance for the child will be ended.
If a step-parent and parent of an adopted child subsequently separate or divorce, both adoptive parents will have equal right to contact with the child while the child's birth parent will have none.
The advantage to adoption is that it does tie up some legal loose ends. The stepfamily unit is recognised by law, all its members can have the same surname and adopted children and any other children of the marriage share the same rights of inheritance.
Changes to The Adoption and Children Act 2002 now means that for a step-parent to adopt a child, the step-parent and one of the child's birth parents no longer need to be married to each other in order to adopt the child.
The step-parent will have to have had their home with the child for at least six months.
A birth parent must be told of a step-parent's intention to adopt and can object to the adoption.
A court can over-rule the birth parent, if they see the adoption as being in the interests of the child. Equally they can rule in favour of the birth parent and refuse to allow the adoption.
You also must tell the child or children about the proposed adoption and the social worker appointed to your case will want to talk to the children.
On giving notice the child becomes a protected child which means an adoption agency must consider the child's interests until various criteria have been met.
These are:
Foster carers adopting a child - If the adopters are the child's foster carers, the child must have been living with them for at least 12 months before the foster carers can apply for an Adoption Order.
The process for adopting a foster child is the same as for adoptions by a stranger. See how to adopt.
Residence Order - Often, an alternative to adopting a step-child or foster child, is to obtain a Residence Order which states who the child should live with and bestows parental responsibility (PR) on a step-parent, relative or foster carer but does not sever the legal links the child has to their birth parents.
This means the child could still have contact with their birth parent and their natural grandparents.
Sometimes a court will grant a Residence Order to family rather than an Adoption Order if it feels the former is in the better interests of the child.
The step-parent will share PR with the child's birth parent but the step-parent does not acquire quite the same rights that a birth parent has.
It will not allow a step-parent to agree to a child's adoption or allow them to appoint a guardian to act for the child after their death.
In addition, while a Residence Order is in force, no-one (parent or step-parent) is allowed to change the child's surname or arrange for the child's emigration unless all the people with PR agree or a court makes an order permitting it.
Other court orders - There are various orders that family members of a child can apply for under the 1989 Children Act.
They can apply for this order by getting a Children Act Form C1 from their local magistrates' court, county court, or the High Court. They will need to provide details of themselves, their partner, the children, what order they wish to apply for and why.
Or if the children have been removed from your care by a non-resident parent, you may need a Specific Issue Order to telling that parent that they must be returned to you.
This order will also help if a child's non-resident parent is thinking of taking the children to live abroad.
If they have already taken the children out of the country, you may be able to get them back through legal action but this depends on which country the children have been taken to
Adopting a foster child
Residence Order
Other court orders
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