Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Adoption definition

What does Adoption mean? Adoption is the court process by which an adult or couple becomes a child’s legal parent(s), permanently replacing the legal status of the birth parent(s). When an adoption order is made, parental responsibility (England & Wales and Northern Ireland) or parental responsibilities and rights (Scotland) transfers in full to the adopter(s); the birth parents’ legal rights and duties are extinguished, subject to any contact the court may authorise. The child is treated in law as the child of the adopter(s) for all purposes, including name, birth registration and inheritance. The law is statutory in each jurisdiction (for example, the...

Step-parent Adoption Applications: Requirements, Procedure, Alternatives, Dispensing with Consent and Welfare Assessment (England and Wales)

Published by a LexisNexis Family expert

Precedents

This guide offers broad information on applications for step-parent Adoptions. Your family solicitor can give tailored guidance that reflects your situation. It outlines the essentials and scope of the process.

Why might a step-parent want to apply for an Adoption order?

In law, the Children Act 1989 describes Parental Responsibility as all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and Authority that a parent holds regarding a child and their property. Anyone with parental responsibility is entitled to participate in significant decisions about the child, including—but not limited to—where they live or attend school, whether medical treatment is given or withheld, and which religion they should practise as applicable.

An adoption order passes parental responsibility to the adopter—the step-parent—who will then share that responsibility with their partner, the child’s birth parent. Such an order also alters the child’s legal status going forward. It brings to an end all legal connections with the child’s other birth parent entirely. The court will only make an order of this kind after carrying out thorough enquiries, into the circumstances, and only if it concludes that doing so is in the child’s best interests overall.

What are the alternatives to an adoption order?

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Web page updated on 22/05/2026

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