adoption the legal process by which the rights and obligations of a child's natural parents are extinguished and equivalent rights and obligations are vested in the adoptive parents. In English family law, a statutory procedure under the Adoption Act 1976. The effect of an order is to have the child treated as if it had been born as a child of the marriage. Adoption prevents a child from being illegitimate
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thenceforth. Any person under 18 who has not been married can be adopted. A person adopting children (not already a parent) must be over 21. The consent of a father of an illegitimate child is not required. The court can dispense with a parent's consent. A husband and wife may adopt the legitimate children from the wife's former marriage. A local authority or approved adoption agency can apply for an order freeing a child for adoption that renders unnecessary the need later for difficult petition procedure. The effect is to extinguish parental rights and vest them in the adopters. The child succeeds to the new parents and does not succeed to the former parents.
In Scots family law, there is a similar statutory procedure under the Adoption of Children (Scotland) Act 1978.
A child adopted under an adoption order made in the UK will become a British citizen if the adopter (or, if more than one, one adopter) is a British citizen. An adoption order made outwith the UK in favour of a British citizen will not give the adopted child auto- matic British citizenship; this may be gained by registration or natu- ralisation.
- default of pleadings
- defeasance
- defect
- defective equipment
- defence
- deferred sentence
- deferred shares
- de jure
- delay
- del credere agency
- delegate
- delegated legislation
- delegation
- delegatus non potest delegare
- delict
- deliverable state
- delivery
- de minimus non curat lex
- demonstrative legacy
- demurrage
- deodand
- Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)
- dependant
- dependent territory
- de plano