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adoption

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
hiya,not sure if this is in the right section but i will go for it anyway.

I am now 24 years old and my dad and my stepmum have had custody to me and my brother since i was 5 years old. My real mum hasn't played much part in either mine or my brothers life apart from a couple of visits a year when we were younger. Thing is i was speaking with my brother last week, who is now 22 about if we were asked when we were younger, we would have liked our stepmum to have legally adopted us. Because this was never an issue when we were younger we never really spoke about it. It isn't an issue now but i was thinking about the future and if anything bad did happen, then i am not sure where the family would dtand legally.

However, my question now is 'is it possible for my stepmum to adopt us now at the ages we are?' I live in Scotland and i was trying to get information from the web but i can't seem to find much.
Any replies would be helpful
Thanks

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I believe that the maximum age for adoption is 18. Over 18’s can be adopted ONLY if the action was invoked before the young person turned 18.

    But give Citizens Advice a call. They'll probably be able to find out for you .... :)

    Did you keep your Dad's surname so you have the same surname as your step-mum?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Teagan wrote: »
    I believe that the maximum age for adoption is 18. Over 18’s can be adopted ONLY if the action was invoked before the young person turned 18.

    But give Citizens Advice a call. They'll probably be able to find out for you .... :)

    Did you keep your Dad's surname so you have the same surname as your step-mum?



    Yeah i have my dad's surname and they are married so we all have the same surname. I think i may pop into CAB and see what they say.

    Thanks
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Hi,

    If I remember rightly as you are over 18 they can not adopt you legally, however this would not matter as you can just name them as your next of kin,

    Which means in any emergencies they would be contacted first. I think the problem is under 18 you cannot name a next of kin, it is always legally the parents (if I remember rightly) so years ago this would have caused problems. however because you are both adults you can just name your "adoptive parents" as next of kin, or your brother or whoever,

    You might want to check the Scottish Adoption Assosiation, they may be able to give you help

    http://www.scottishadoption.org/
    0131 553 5060
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    It has implications for inheritance.
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