Historically any application for contact with a child who was to be the subject of an Adoption Order had to be made, and would be determined by the Court, before the making of the Adoption Order.
The Children and Families Act 2014 will introduce, on 25th July 2014, new provision which allows applications to be made for contact with a child after an Adoption Order has been made.
The new legislation does not apply exclusively to Adoption Orders made on or after the date that the legislation comes into force and therefore an application can be made for post adoption contact, regardless of when the Adoption Order was made.
The legislation contains a list of those who are eligible to make an application for post adoption contact. That list includes relatives of the child, any person who had parental responsibility for the child immediately before the Adoption Order was made and any person whom the child lived with for at least one year.
The Court’s permission to make an application is required which means that even before deciding on whether to allow contact the Court will need to decide on whether to allow the Applicant to make the proposed application.
When looking at whether to grant permission the Court must consider whether allowing the application to proceed might disrupt the child’s life to such an extent that they would be harmed by it. Also, the Court must consider the applicant’s connection with the child, and any views expressed by the child or the adopters.
Succeeding in relation to the permission application will be very much be the first hurdle in an application for post adoption contact.
If you have any questions about making an application to the Court for contact with a child subject to an Adoption Order then you should contact our friendly and experienced family team on 02920 470909.