Please help..

[AdopMum94]

Hi all,
I was wondering if anyone can help me, I am in process of adopting my fiance's son. His birth mother lost custody and parental responsibility through court for child abuse and neglect in 2018.
We have been told by social services that she will have to be contacted to see if she will allow the adoption - is this right when shes lost all parental and contact rights through a court for abuse and neglect?
We are worried about this as we feel it would cause so much disruption to our son - she hasnt even attempted contact or asked how he is for 8 years!
Shes expressed to people that she would only want him back for the money because hes disabled and that she'd kidnap him if she saw him..
Thank you

Her contesting the adoption wouldn’t be about her regaining parental rights, that ship has sailed. She does have the right to contest the adoption itself ie that she objects to you adopting him. In the unlikely event that she was successful in contesting the adoption that doesn’t mean she’ll win would regain custody or parental rights because losing parental rights and adoption are two separate processes, despite often being done in the same court hearing.

It shouldn’t cause disruption to your son, it’s a legal argument that he won’t be aware of unless you speak to him about it. The court might appoint a curator ad litem to speak to him but otherwise he’s not going to be involved in the legal process.

It’s natural to be anxious but it’s really a routine process. If you have genuine, evidenced safety concerns about birth mum knowing where you live the social worker can withhold contact details and ask the court to do the same. What is your lawyer saying about it?

Thank you for your help, I'm just a little confused where she even has the right to contest when she has already lost parental, court order is in place for no contact to him and regarding him, she hasnt bothered in 8 years with even birthday or christmas cards. Im surprised contacting for the adoption wouldnt go against the court order for no contact to him or regarding him?
We haven't spoken to solicitor yet, we are just in the very early stages finding out what we need to do etc :)

It's routine they have to ensure that the correct legal process is followed and it is part of the birth parent's rights to be able to contest it. Don't worry.

She has the right contest who her child ends up with - that would be the case in any adoption process, while she has lost parental rights it’s a legal formality that she can contest adoption. That would usually happen all in one hearing (losing parental rights and the adoption order) so there wouldn’t usually be a gap between the two but the legal process are independent of each other and she has the right to contest both. There being such a long gap is an anomaly which is what’s making you question.

Usually the court would remove parental rights and if there was a successful contest to the child being adopted (in principle by anyone) the court could order permanent foster care. You child is living with someone who has parental rights, so that question didn’t need to be settled in the original hearing. Things have changed now and she still has the right to object to adoption - it’s very unlikely she’ll be successful, she might not even respond. They need to follow the correct legal process though, which is hard.

Only adopting out of the birth family or special guardianship orders loses parental responsibility. If dad has custody I’m pretty sure mum still has parental responsibility and has to consent to adoption. I think you misunderstood parents who have children living with ex dint lose parental responsibility she is still legally their mother.

That’s not correct. A court can remove parental rights in extreme cases such as abuse. It doesn’t have to involve adoption.