Adoption Court Order

[Approved1988]

Hi we have had our adopted son for over 10 weeks now and can officially take it through the courts.

We are aware that the birth parents will contest the order and we have no worries the only question I have is how long can the process go on for if they contest and where is the cut off point the judge will say no more appealing?

Thanks

Not 100% sure but it seems to be court sets a date a few months down the line, bps try tocontest and interim hearings set, to deal with before final date. if they don't submit any paperwork however before the date, they can rock up at court (actually they can do that at any point) and it can be delayed then, i think by a couple of months if they are granted leave to appeal.

It really depends on whether BPs are awarded right to appeal or not and any other circumstances that might surround the case and how the judge happens to feel. From my experience and talking to others who've adopted in my LA clerical errors are common too and the sloghtest one is likely to postpone things. It could go on for months but it's extremely rare for a child to be removed once in placement so just strap yourself in and prepare for a bumpy ride as much of it is out of your control. Just try to enjoy your LO though as it almost always works out in the end xx

Where we live there are large backlogs for family court dates. All together from completing the application to the final hearing was 7 months. BM contested but didn’t get right to appeal.

It depends too on where you live, the legal process across the 4 nations is very different.

This applies to England and Wales, I imagine that although the law is different in Scotland and Northern Ireland a similar procedure will be followed due to the right to family life.

1. you put your application in after 10 weeks
2. the judge issues directions asking for reports from social workers and giving the BP a deadline to put in an application to contest the order. There was around 3 months between putting our application and our first hearing.
3. ignore the deadline the judge gave the BP, the judge will agree to hear them even they only turn up to do it last minute on the day of the hearing. 4a) BP don't apply to contest or turn up in person. The order is granted and they have 28 days to lodge an appeal (see later) 4b) they turn up and apply to contest so the judge issued directions saying they have around 6 weeks to get their evidence together and find legal representation if they wish and sets a new court date. Our court date was about 2 months after the initial hearing.
4. both the BP and SS present their cases about whether or not leave to contest should be granted. In order for it to granted they have to prove that they have a reasonably chance of succeeding so either SS have to have done something seriously wrong (like misidentify the father which has happened) or they have to have made significant and sustained changes to their lives. This includes showing they understand and accept responsibility for their child being put up for adoption. If the placement order is less than a year old then generally not enough time will have passed to prove they've made sustainable changes. The judge then adjourns for deliberations and sets a time to deliver the verdict. 6a) leave to contest is granted. A date for a full trial of the facts is set but it is highly unlikely that BP will succeed in preventing the order being granted. I think there are maybe 3 cases I found in my research when the judge refused to grant the order. 6B) leave to contest is denied and the judge grants the order. BP then have around 28 days to appeal.

Appealing an order. Firstly, BP has to fill in the correct paperwork (unlike when applying for leave to contest) and secondly it costs quite a bit to put an application in. Secondly, the whole reason that a judge will accept last minute applications to contest is to make it impossible for BP to use the fact that they weren't allowed as grounds for appeal, after all when an adoption order is granted it means that someone's human rights have been breached.

From initially filing the application to our celebration hearing took 8 months.

In Scotland it’ll depend on the order the child is placed under - ours were on a permanence order with authority to adopt so parental rights had already been removed. Birth parent could contest the process but had to do so at the initial hearing and could only contest us as adoptive parents not whether the children would be placed for adoption. We took 15 weeks from placement to order, the earliest we could legally apply was 13 weeks and one day after placement. We paid for our own legal advice and basically got the best lawyers available - very worth it for a quick resolution.

We have have our first hearing in January after applying to for the court order and we have been informed that the BM is going to contest the order but the BF isn't. Placement order was granted in August and our child has been with us since then.

How long will the BM get to contest after the first hearing? How many times can she appeal and when will it be granted? We are confident that it will be smooth sailing just want it all wrapped up now so we can move on as a family.

Theres no hard and fast rule. It all depends on the surrounding circumstances and how the judge feels. If BPs fail to convince the judge that they've. made enough meaningful changes then they may even deny them the right to appeal and grant the order there and then. Be aware though that if birth parents are on the chaotic side then from what I've heard the judge is more likely to side with BPs in the interest of really being sure they've had a fair chance (eg if they don't get appeals finished on time/don't turn up for court hearings etc) Also bare in mind that the slightest clerical errors are likely to cause delays too (our first hearing was delayed as BPs weren't quite given the correct legal advice and a friend's was delayed as BP's address was incorrect) It's frustrating and worrying I know but all you can do is wait. Be reaasured though that it's incredibly rare for a child to be returned to BPs after they've got to the point of being in a placement. I don't mean this in a derogatory way but remember that to have reached this point parents have already had months of the threat and shock of their child being removed, placement in fc and the chance to appeal the placement order. Realistically if they haven't managed to implement the major changes required prior to this point it's unlikely that they're going to change enough at this point sadly. Relax, try and enjoy your son who needs you to just love him and embrace him as your son and it'll come in time. Good luck xx

Thank you for your answers. Basically the birth mother is contesting and the BF isn't will that fall on our favour and how many cases have lost and children have returned back to BP and for what reason? It's a scary thought as we have bonded like he has been with us since birth.