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Madonna AdoptionIf it’s good enough for Madonna…The media has always taken an avid interest in Madonna’s personal life. This interest has stepped up a gear following the announcement that Madonna and Guy Ritchie hope to adopt a child from Malawi. The boy, David Banda, is now in London with Madonna and is due to be monitored by Malawian officials over a period of 18 months before the adoption is approved. The decision by a Malawian court gives the singer and her husband, film-maker Guy Ritchie, temporary custody of 13-month-old David Banda for this time until the process is completed.
The singer said she wanted to "open up our home and help one child escape an extreme life of hardship, poverty and in many cases death". The consequences of adoption haven’t been lost in the media hype surrounding this case. Once an adoption order has been made, the child's natural parents will no longer have any rights or responsibilities towards the child. When you adopt a child you become the child's legal parent and they will usually take your surname. They will also inherit from you just as if they were born to you. Can same sex couples adopt? The Adoption and Children Act was passed by Parliament in 2002, but was implemented only in January 2006. Under this new law, adoption is no longer limited to married couples or single persons. Before, unmarried people in England and Wales adopted individually, thereby depriving parental rights to their partners. Prior to this legislation, applications from same sex couples were considered. However, until now only one partner has legally been able to adopt a child, with the other having to get a residence order to obtain parental responsibility. This has meant that only one partner could become the child’s legal parent. Now, same sex couples can adopt as a couple and both become the child’s legal parents Adoption by heterosexual and gay people and couples should be treated similarly by all adoption agencies. Studies indicates that gay adopters do an excellent job of parenting children and that they have as much to offer children as married heterosexual couples. You should not expect to face any discrimination because of your sexuality. Conditions for Adoption In order to adopt you must, or at least one of the couple must be domiciled in the UK, which means born here or that you live here and consider the UK your home. You need to be at least 21 years old to adopt, or if you are a couple you need to both be over that age. There are certain barriers that face all prospective parents. It will go against you if you have not been with your partner for very long. Agencies will want to establish that you are financially secure (e.g. not threatened with eviction) and that you have a certain level of income. The size of your house is relevant; it cannot be too small to house a family. They would also like to hear that you are not just about to move. If you have a recent criminal conviction or a pending criminal charge then this is likely to be frowned upon, perhaps as you might expect. They generally ask that if you already have a child that they are not more than two years older than the age of a child you wish to adopt. Adoption agencies will want to know if you are the parent of a child that has died recently. You are likely to be declined if you have had a child of your own that was 'taken into care,' for obvious reasons. It may not be as straight-forward as the Madonna case appears if you wish to adopt – but it is possible. Adoption is handled in the UK by local social services departments. The Adoption Information Line website has useful information on the whole process.  Article written by: Davina Warrington, divorce and family specialist with Woolley & Co, solicitors.  |
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