Child Adoption Solicitors
Breakthrough Solicitors provides expert legal support for matters involving child adoptions.
Start with a straightforward, free initial consultation with a family lawyer to understand your options.
Owner of Breakthrough Solicitors
Solicitor & Mediator
Father of Two
Why choose Breakthrough Solicitors for child adoption matters?
Adoption is one of the most significant legal steps a family can take.
Whether you are looking to adopt through a local authority, formalise your role as a step-parent, or your child is currently subject to adoption proceedings, the legal process in England and Wales is strictly regulated and designed above all to protect the welfare of the child.
Having the right support throughout makes a genuine difference, regardless of what your situation entails.
At Breakthrough Solicitors, we provide clear, sensitive advice at every stage, helping you understand what to expect and what is required of you.
Here’s what sets us apart:
- Transparent and trusted: Our positive client feedback reflects our commitment to honest, straightforward advice — important in adoption matters where the process can be lengthy and emotionally demanding.
- Experienced team: With 20+ years of combined experience in family law, our solicitors can advise you on all aspects of adoption, including agency, step-parent and international.
- A sensitive, solutions-focused approach: Adoption cases often arise from deeply personal circumstances. We take the time to understand your situation fully and guide you through the process with care and clarity.
- Inclusive and respectful: We proudly support all families, including LGBTQ+ clients, and approach every case with sensitivity and respect for different family structures.
- Serving clients across England and Wales: We work with clients nationwide. Some meet us remotely, while others visit our offices in Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Hertfordshire, Middlesex, and London.
- Advice in multiple languages: We offer clear, pragmatic legal advice in English, Hindi, Gujarati, and Cantonese, ensuring nothing gets lost in translation.
- Flexible appointments: Choose between remote video meetings or face-to-face appointments, depending on what suits you best.
- Convenient meeting times:
- Monday – Friday: 8am – 8pm
- Saturday: 9am – 6pm
- Sunday: 11am – 5pm
Speak to a family law solicitor today!
Owner of Breakthrough Solicitors
Solicitor & Mediator
Father of Two
How Breakthrough Solicitors support you with child adoption matters
The adoption process in England and Wales follows a structured legal framework, and the route you take will depend on your circumstances — whether you are adopting through an agency, as a step-parent, from overseas or even if you are a parent responding to adoption applications.
Whichever route applies to you, the court’s paramount consideration throughout is the welfare of the child.
At Breakthrough Solicitors, we guide you through the process clearly at every stage:
- Initial consultation: We take time to understand your situation, explain the type of adoption that applies to your circumstances, and outline the likely process, timescales, and your legal rights.
- Eligibility and preparation: We advise on whether you meet the legal requirements to adopt children — and help you prepare for the assessment process that follows. For birth parents, we advise on the legal grounds required to oppose an adoption order.
- Assessment and approval: For agency and local authority adoptions, prospective adopters must go through a formal assessment before being approved. We can advise you on these matters.
- Court application: Once a match has been made, we help prepare and submit the adoption order application to the court. Where an application is contested, we can provide legal representation.
- Step-parent and relative adoption: If you are adopting a child already known to you — such as a partner’s child or a relative in your care — we can guide you through the specific legal requirements too.
- International adoption: We advise on the additional requirements for overseas adoption, including Department for Education approval, eligibility criteria, and entry clearance for the child to come to the UK.
- Final adoption order: We support you through to the granting of the adoption order — the point at which you become the child’s legal parent in every respect.
Common challenges in child adoption — and how we help you prepare
Adoption can be deeply rewarding, but the legal and practical process is often complex. Understanding the applicable route and addressing potential issues at an early stage can help avoid delay and uncertainty.
Important considerations:
- Identify the appropriate adoption route: The procedure and legal requirements differ depending on whether the adoption is arranged through an adoption agency, involves a step-parent or relative, or concerns a child from overseas. Identifying the correct route at the outset is essential.
- Prepare for the assessment process: Those seeking approval as prospective adopters through an adoption agency will undergo a detailed assessment of their background, circumstances, health, relationships, support network and suitability to adopt. Full and open engagement with the assessment process is important.
- Understand the consent requirements: Adoption will generally require the consent of each parent or guardian who has parental responsibility for the child. Formal consent cannot be given until the child is at least six weeks old. The court may dispense with consent where the parent or guardian cannot be found, lacks capacity to consent, or the child’s welfare requires it.
- Act promptly where adoption is proposed without parental agreement: If a local authority is seeking authority to place a child for adoption without a parent’s consent, the parent should contact a solicitor without delay. Court proceedings concerning placement and adoption are subject to strict procedures and can have permanent legal consequences.
- Obtain specialist advice about international adoption: International adoption may involve the laws of several countries, immigration and nationality requirements, and rules governing whether the adoption will be recognised in England and Wales. Some countries restrict or prohibit adoption by foreign nationals, and additional requirements may apply under the Hague Convention on intercountry adoption.
In every case, the court’s paramount consideration when reaching a decision about adoption is the child’s welfare throughout their life.
Your rights and options in child adoption — and how our solicitors support you
An adoption order permanently changes a child’s legal status. The adoptive parent or parents become the child’s legal parents, while the birth parents’ legal status and parental responsibility will generally come to an end. It is therefore one of the most significant orders that the Family Court can make.
Understanding the relevant legal requirements, rights and options is essential, whether you are seeking to adopt or are involved in proceedings concerning the proposed adoption of your child.
We can help you
- Assess your eligibility and identify the adoption route appropriate to your circumstances.
- Navigate the adoption agency assessment and approval process.
- Prepare and make an application to the Family Court for an adoption order.
- Manage step-parent, relative and other non-agency adoption applications, including compliance with local authority notification and residence requirements.
- Address international adoption issues, including overseas eligibility requirements, recognition of foreign adoption orders, immigration status, nationality and entry clearance for the child.
- Protect your position where a local authority is seeking authority to place your child for adoption without your consent.
- Respond to an adverse agency decision, including considering whether the matter may be referred to the Independent Review Mechanism.
- Advise on challenging or appealing a court decision where there are proper legal grounds, subject to the applicable permission requirements and time limits.
Speak to a family law solicitor today!
Owner of Breakthrough Solicitors
Solicitor & Mediator
Father of Two
How to start your child adoption matter with Breakthrough Solicitors
Addressing adoption matters at an early stage helps provide vital stability for the children involved and brings much-needed clarity to an anxious and uncertain time.
At Breakthrough Solicitors, we make it straightforward to get the right advice quickly.
- Get in touch: Contact us by phone, email, or online enquiry form.
- Free initial consultation (up to 30 minutes): Speak with an experienced family solicitor, understand your options, and ask questions about child adoption — with no obligation.
- Fixed-fee one-hour meeting – £295 (incl. VAT): Meet with Akash Soni and a member of his team to discuss your child adoption case in detail, understand how the law applies to you, and receive a tailored strategy. (We’ll ask for documents in advance for KYC and AML checks.)
- Formal instruction: If you choose to proceed, we will send you a client care letter and request a deposit (usually £500, depending on complexity).
- Ongoing support: Our child adoption solicitors support you throughout the case, keeping you informed at every step.
Flexible Support That Fits Around You
✓ Remote or Face-to-Face Meetings
We offer meetings remotely via video call, or in person at our offices in Amersham, Beaconsfield, Berkhamsted, Chesham, Chorleywood, Gerrards Cross, Harrow, High Wycombe, Mayfair, Milton Keynes, Rickmansworth or The Chalfonts — whichever suits you best.
✓ Advice In Multiple Languages
Support available in English, Cantonese, Hindi, and Gujarati.
✓ Extended Working Hours
Speak to us 7 days a week, including evenings and weekends.
Speak to a family law solicitor today!
Owner of Breakthrough Solicitors
Solicitor & Mediator
Father of Two
Frequently Asked Questions About Child Adoption
What is child adoption?
Child adoption is the legal process by which a court permanently makes an individual or couple the child’s legal parent or parents. An adoption order gives the adopters parental responsibility and generally brings the birth parents’ parental responsibility and legal status as parents to an end.
How can I adopt a child in the UK?
A person must generally be at least 21 years old to adopt. There is no fixed upper age limit, but the adoption agency or court will consider whether the applicant can provide a stable, secure and caring home throughout the child’s upbringing. Applicable domicile or habitual residence requirements must also be satisfied.
A person may apply as a sole adopter or jointly as part of a couple, whether married, in a civil partnership or living together in an enduring family relationship.
Most people seeking to adopt an unrelated child in England apply through either:
- a local authority adoption agency; or
- a voluntary adoption agency.
The agency will provide information about the process, carry out initial checks and arrange an initial meeting. If the application proceeds, the prospective adopter will complete a formal assessment and preparation process.
Different procedures apply to step-parent, relative, overseas and other non-agency adoptions.
How much does it cost to adopt a child in the UK?
A UK adoption agency does not generally charge prospective adopters a fee for arranging the domestic adoption of a child in care. There may nevertheless be associated expenses, including the cost of obtaining documents, medical examinations or specialist reports and, in some cases, court fees.
International adoption can involve substantially greater costs, including agency, assessment, immigration, translation, travel and overseas legal fees.
Once an adoption order is made, the adopters assume the ordinary financial responsibilities of legal parenthood.
Can you get paid for adopting a child?
Adopters are not ordinarily paid simply for adopting a child. However, depending on their employment status and circumstances, they may qualify for support such as:
- Statutory Adoption Leave and Statutory Adoption Pay;
- an adoption allowance or other financial support from the local authority;
- a settling-in grant;
- approved therapeutic services funded through the Adoption Support Fund; and
- relevant welfare benefits or discretionary housing assistance.
Eligibility varies, and some forms of assistance are discretionary or means-tested. The Adoption Support Fund generally funds approved therapeutic services rather than making a direct payment to adoptive parents.
How long does it take to adopt a child in the UK?
The agency assessment and approval process is generally intended to take approximately six months, although it may take longer where further enquiries are necessary or an authorised extension or exclusion applies.
After approval, the agency must identify a child whose needs can appropriately be met by the prospective adopter. There is no fixed timetable for matching. It may take several months or longer, depending on the adopter’s circumstances and the needs of the children waiting for adoption.
Once a child has been placed, a further period must usually pass before an adoption application can be made. The court process will add additional time
Can prospective adopters choose the child they adopt?
Prospective adopters may discuss the age, background and needs of the children they believe they are equipped to care for, but they do not have an unrestricted right to select a child.
The agency’s primary consideration is the child’s welfare and the suitability of the proposed match. A social worker will consider the prospective adopters’ experience, abilities, family circumstances and support network, as well as their capacity to meet the child’s identity, cultural, religious and other individual needs.
What can prevent someone from adopting?
An applicant may be disqualified from adopting through an agency if the applicant, or in some circumstances an adult member of their household, has been convicted of or cautioned for a specified offence against a child or a specified sexual offence.
Other matters—including health conditions, finances, housing, previous involvement with children’s services and criminal history not resulting in automatic disqualification—will be assessed individually. They do not necessarily prevent adoption, but the agency must be satisfied that the applicant can meet the needs of an adopted child safely and consistently.
Applicants must disclose relevant matters fully and accurately during the assessment.
What happens if a local authority proposes adoption against a parent’s wishes?
A local authority cannot ordinarily place a child for adoption without either the necessary parental consent or a placement order made by the court.
When considering a placement order, the court must treat the child’s welfare throughout their life as its paramount consideration. It may dispense with the consent of a parent or guardian only where:
- the parent or guardian cannot be found;
- the parent or guardian lacks capacity to consent; or
- the child’s welfare requires consent to be dispensed with.
Adoption without parental consent must be necessary and proportionate. The court will consider the realistic alternatives, including whether the child could safely remain with, or be cared for by, members of the birth family.
A parent may participate in the care and placement proceedings, challenge the local authority’s evidence and put forward alternative proposals. Parents responding to care and placement order proceedings are generally eligible for non-means-tested and non-merits-tested legal aid.
If a placement order has already been made and the child has been placed for adoption, a parent may require the court’s permission before being allowed to oppose the final adoption application. Different legal aid rules may also apply at that stage.
Our family law team can provide clear and objective advice about care, placement and adoption proceedings.
Will the birth family still have contact after adoption?
Contact depends on the individual child’s welfare and circumstances. Arrangements may include:
- indirect or “letterbox” contact, involving the exchange of letters, photographs or updates;
- direct contact through meetings, telephone calls or video calls; or
- no continuing contact where contact would not promote the child’s welfare.
Contact arrangements may be agreed through the adoption agency or addressed by the court. A court may make orders concerning contact after adoption, but the child’s welfare remains the paramount consideration. Informal arrangements may also be reviewed as the child’s needs change.
Our child adoption solicitors can advise on the forms of contact that may be appropriate and legally enforceable in a particular case.
Adoption or a Special Guardianship Order — which is right for us?
An adoption order permanently makes the adopter the child’s legal parent and generally brings the birth parents’ parental responsibility and legal status as parents to an end.
A Special Guardianship Order gives the special guardian parental responsibility and usually permits them to exercise it to the exclusion of others with parental responsibility on most issues. However, the child’s legal relationship with the birth family continues, and the birth parents ordinarily retain parental responsibility in a restricted form.
Unlike adoption, a Special Guardianship Order may be varied or discharged by the court, although a parent or certain other applicants may first require permission to apply. Some significant decisions—including changing the child’s surname or removing the child from the United Kingdom for an extended period—remain subject to statutory restrictions.
The appropriate order depends on the child’s welfare, family relationships, need for legal permanence, proposed contact arrangements and the circumstances of the prospective carers.
What happens in the free consultation?
A 30-minute, no-obligation call where you discuss your situation and options with an experienced family solicitor.
What is the fixed fee meeting?
A one-hour advice session costing £295 (including VAT), where we provide tailored legal advice and a clear strategy going forward.