reccomendations for solicitor to deal with step parent adoption

Lasvegas · 2006-10-17T14:52:04+00:00

Hi my husband is hoping to adopt his step DD. Can anyone reccomend a solicitor in london area. Also I have today given social services a three month notice of intention to adopt anyone know what we should now expect?

WereWABBITT · 17/10/2006 16:41

Your best bet is to go onto the Law Society web site where there's a link to finding specialist Law practitioners...

I've just used it so it's really easy to navigate and has loads of useful information

Original poster

Lasvegas · 17/10/2006 17:03

WW - I agree it is a good site but I was hoping for a personal reccomendation. I have phoned a few solicitors and when questioned they have no prior experience of step parent adoption.

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WereWABBITT · 17/10/2006 17:07

sorry I can't be more of a help - good luck in your search though

SofiaAmes · 17/10/2006 18:14

I can recommend a lovely man in the city, but he is fairly pricey.

Original poster

Lasvegas · 18/10/2006 12:20

sofia A - yes please can I have his name/firm. DH works in the City so that would be a good location.

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julieandrews · 24/10/2006 09:18

you may not need a lawyer, it depends on whether adoption is likely to be contested

Original poster

Lasvegas · 24/10/2006 14:00

Julieandrews Do you have experience of step parent adoption? We have our first appointment with SS next week, I think it is mainly to do CRB check. Will SS write to bio father and ask to meet with him to find out his views? Biological father has never been involved in DD's life except via CSA but I have no idea if he will contest or not.

I did do my own divorce so I will probably be able to handle the adoption forms without a solicitor if it is not contested.

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Sunnysideup · 24/10/2006 14:37

Lasvegas I 'did' a step parent adoption as a social worker and it was a very simple affair. The family I dealt with certainly did not use or need a solicitor; but of course circumstances differ. This adoption was not contested and the father was not even traceable.

You can expect a visit from a social worker to assess the situation and gather information from you as regards the child's previous relationship/contact with the father etc; just to understand the basics of the situation. They should tell you what to expect at each stage.

Sorry, that's about the limit of what I can remember, was a SW in what feels like a previous lifetime!

Good luck though, I think it's a lovely thing to do and I hope it's all sorted for you soon.

lemonstartree · 24/10/2006 15:35

Las Vegas

My Husband and I adopted my biological son. We did not need a solicitor. My son's biological father was asked for his opinion ( and he agreed) but if he has not our SW said she felt it was unlikely that we would be prevented from adopting ds as hos bio father had never seen nor contacted him in any way.

SS will see you - I think they came to see us about 5-6 times , assess the stability of your marriage, etc etc. after that they write a report for the court, and then its a formality.

let me know if you have any other questions

Original poster

Lasvegas · 24/10/2006 16:54

Thanks sunyside - will try to avoid a solicitor at £190 an hr if we can.

Lemon thanks I was hoping you were still around as a few months ago you mentioned your past circustances which are similar I think to mine. Did you contact bio father for his oppinion or did SW? How much background should I give SW? Should I explain why previous marriage broke down is it relevant that bio father left just after birth (nearly 4 yrs ago). Off line now till next monday, but hope to catch up then.

The law changed Dec 05 and now the bio mother doesn't have to adopt her own child only the step father adopts. Which psychologically sounds a lot better.

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lemonstartree · 25/10/2006 11:09

Hi LV

I gave sS his address andthey wrote to him. He wrote back - a letter which is on file for my ds when he is 18 (if he wants it)

SS will certainly ask about your relationship with dd's father. Not in a perjorative way, but to include all relevent information in the report. The asked me all about my son's fathers family (what little I knew) and as much as I knew about him.

They spoke to my mother ( who objected to my dh and I adopting my son) and to dhs parents etc etc

it was all ok, and I didnt feel judged at all, but rather they were doing what an indepenednt judge would consider to be in the best interest of my son.

I think thats the key really, they decide what is in the best interests of the child. Hopefully it is what you also want, but they are looking after the interests of the child.

bw lst

CwmbranChildminder · 25/10/2006 17:56

Hi Lasvegas
Im actually in the same position but a few steps ahead - I have had the SS around and they are in the process of setting the adoption process etc.
SS came around and did initial assesment on me dh and ds.They will ask u a lot of questions and u should always say how it will benifit your dd etc not how it will benifit u etc. She will come bk a number of times to do indepth interviews individually = she will contact my ds (bio father) and then take the reports to court. If Bio father doesnt have parental responsible then they only ask them for opinion not permission. Im not happy about that process as i know bio will contest. It all then gets taken to court etc with reports from ss and decision made. It is a long process tho - oh and ss told us the price think it was a few hundred but may be more expensive in London - well its bound to be!
Thnk thats all i can think of - Feel free to ask anything

CwmbranChildminder · 25/10/2006 17:56

Hi Lasvegas
Im actually in the same position but a few steps ahead - I have had the SS around and they are in the process of setting the adoption process etc.
SS came around and did initial assesment on me dh and ds.They will ask u a lot of questions and u should always say how it will benifit your dd etc not how it will benifit u etc. She will come bk a number of times to do indepth interviews individually = she will contact my ds (bio father) and then take the reports to court. If Bio father doesnt have parental responsible then they only ask them for opinion not permission. Im not happy about that process as i know bio will contest. It all then gets taken to court etc with reports from ss and decision made. It is a long process tho - oh and ss told us the price think it was a few hundred but may be more expensive in London - well its bound to be!
Thnk thats all i can think of - Feel free to ask anything

julieandrews · 27/10/2006 09:50

Hi Las Vegas,
we are going to court for adoption next week,(!!!!)
we filed 3 month notice in jan this year.
I also personally filed the relevent docs at the family Court in Well street, central london. (cost about £150) These are extremely easy to fill in, you can get them online and your SW will help you if you get stuck.
Have had visits from social services about every six weeks since then - gets quite tiresome but worth it in the end. They also contacted and interviewed immediate families on both sides - even though one family is in Australia. Interviewed our referees (you'll need two) and asked the usual personal and intrusive questions that everyone loves to answer.. My son also got his own representative from CAFCAS - she came and interviewed us too - but only did this after she had read SW's report. So it does take a while...
Good luck

Original poster

Lasvegas · 31/10/2006 13:38

Thanks all for the information, great to hear from others with direct experience. Anotheer question if I may, you all mention that SW will contact bio father, but I don't have an address for him. Do I just give last known address? Which is the marital home we sold 3.5 yrs ago, I was the person to lock up and hand keys to buyer so I know he didn't leave a forwarding address. Will SW expect me to use private detective to try and find him? I have not seen any of his family for about 3.5 years and I deleted their contact details from my address book years ago.

JulieA - Good luck and do please let me know how it goes in court

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julieandrews · 01/11/2006 09:12

I'm officially a mummy!
First same sex couple in London, possibly UK to go through process.

sunnysideup · 01/11/2006 10:05

Wow! How lovely - well done! Enjoy being a mummy

CwmbranChildminder · 01/11/2006 14:43

Great news JA

LasVegas
You wont need to hire a PD.You will have to provide all relevant address that you last knew your X was and also the address of his relatives. I was thinking 'oh if i dnt give what i know they wont track him' but oh no - apparently if the SW cant trace the X then the courts will chuck it bk out and say retry. BUM!
Thats why Im now trying my best to give as much info as poss so the process can go through easier. Its a bit touchy my end as my X ran off with my cousin and got her pregnant so Ive up and left the town completely to start a new life.
Hopefully SW can track yours as they might be able to look through voters roll etc
Good luck

Original poster

Lasvegas · 01/11/2006 15:21

Julie A congratulations you must be so happy to be done with all the questions. Good to hear from another person where the system has worked as it should.

C childminder - I hope you were not close to your cousin as that would be a double betrayal. Thanks for the advice re the court throwing out application if they cannot find bio. Will have to put thinking hat on I don't even recall his DOB let alone an address.

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