Adoption Week Scotland – 23rd November to 1st December

Adoption Week Scotland runs this year from Saturday 23rd November to Sunday 1st December 2024. This is an annual event which seeks to raise awareness of adoption in Scotland and promote support for this pathway to parenthood for many families in Scotland.

What is adoption?

Adoption is the legal process whereby a Court creates a new relationship of parent and child. Adoption is permanent and the adopter is granted full parental rights and responsibilities in relation to a child. From the date of the adoption, the child is treated for all purposes as a child of the adopter and the links between the child and their birth parent(s) are severed by the parental rights and responsibilities of that birth parent being extinguished by the Court.

Adoption can create a whole new family for a child by the child being adopted by one or two adopters and their links with both their birth parents being extinguished (which I’ll refer to as an “adoption”), or a child can be adopted by a step-parent severing their ties with one of their birth parents only (which I’ll refer to as a “step-parent adoption”), but retaining the links with the other. In cases of step-parent adoption it must be remembered that the child will be treated as the child of their step-parent for all time coming, even if the relationship between that step-parent and their birth parent comes to an end. Adoption is the creation of permanent family units with permanent relationships created.

Who can adopt?

It depends on whether it is an adoption or a step-parent adoption. In both cases:

With adoption, the adopter(s) must be over the age of 21 years. An adopter can be single, married, in a civil partnership or cohabitants living together in an “enduring family relationship”. There are no strict criteria for adopters but the Court must be satisfied that the adopters have sufficient financial means to be able to support the child adequately and that they are of sufficiently good health to meet the child’s needs.

With step-parent adoption there is no requirement to be over the age of 21 but the natural parent must be over the age of 18. The step-parent must be married to, in a civil partnership with, or living in an “enduring family relationship” with the birth parent of a child who has parental rights and responsibilities for that child.

Who can be adopted?

A petition for adoption must be brought before the Court before the child’s 18th birthday. The child must also not be married. In Scotland, there is no means for an adult to be adopted.

Can children give a view?

Where it is considered that a child is of a sufficient age and maturity they must be given the opportunity to express their view on the making of an adoption order and the Court must have regard to such views. The legislation goes further than this where a child is over the age of 12 and a child over the age of 12 must formally consent to the adoption before it can be granted.

Do the birth parents need to consent to the adoption?

In ordinary circumstances then yes, the birth parents do need to consent to the adoption. Their consent can, however, be dispensed with if the birth parent cannot be located, or is incapable of giving consent, or if the birth parent is considered by the Court to be unable to satisfactorily discharge their parental responsibilities, or where the welfare of the child otherwise requires their consent to be discharged with. The Court is therefore given wide powers to consider what is in the child’s best interests.

Can the child find details of their birth parents?

In some cases, children grow up knowing they are adopted, or that their adopted parent is their step-parent. In other cases, children grow up with the belief that their adopted parents or step-parent adopter is their birth parents. This can cause some anxiety about how or when a child may find out about the adoption. Of course, in all cases the Court must give the children the opportunity to express a view about the potential adoption if they are of an age and maturity to do so and in order to do that, the child must understand what it means to be adopted so they may need to be told some details.

All adoptions are registered with the National Records of Scotland within the Adopted Children Register. The information registered includes the adopted name(s) of the child, the names of their adopters and their place and time of birth. This register is searchable and extract registered certificates can be obtained, which will reveal only the details of the child and the adopters, not the birth parents. The National Records of Scotland keeps a record of the connection between an entry for a child in the Register of Births with the corresponding entry in the Adopted Children Register but that information can only be disclosed under a Court order or to an adopted person over the age of 16. All adopted children, when they reach the age of 16, have a statutory right to the details of their adoption and can seek this information from the National Records of Scotland. The National Records of Scotland can provide the adopted person with their original birth certificate which will provide the adopted person with their birth name, their place of birth, their mother’s name and father’s name (if registered). The National Records of Scotland can also give the details to the adopted person of where their Court papers are held.

Unlike the adopted person, birth parents have no statutory rights to contact their child post-adoption or find out any information about them. The Adoption Contact Register for Scotland was set up in 1984 at the request of birth parents. Birth parents can register with the Adoption Contact Register to make themselves available to their birth child should their birth child wish to look for them. Each time a new person registers, their details are checked against all the other people already registered. The register is managed by Birthlink, which is an independent agency.

What are the alternatives to adoption in Scotland?

Adoption is not always the most appropriate pathway for children and families. There are other alternatives depending on the circumstances for the child. For example, in situations where the child’s birth parents are still very much involved in their lives, or where birth parents may be involved with the child at a future date, it may not seem appropriate for the birth parents’ rights and responsibilities to be extinguished in favour of potential adopters. This may be especially the case with step-parent adoptions in circumstances where a child has two parents who do not live together. It may be more appropriate for a potential adopter or step-parent adopter to consider applying to the Court for one or more parental rights and responsibilities for the child which will give them rights and responsibilities along side the birth parent, without the birth parent’s rights and responsibilities being extinguished.

How can we help?

Our specialist family solicitors can help you with any query you have in relation to adoption or step-parent adoption, or in relation to the application for other parental rights and responsibilities in relation to a child. We can assist you through the legal process to create your family unit in whatever way is appropriate for your family. Please get in touch with one of our solicitors.