Before any adoption application is accepted by the courts (for filing), it is most important to prepare and obtain the necessary "Consent" documents.

1. Your spouse's consent

Most adoption applications by married persons are made jointly made with their spouse.

If, for any reason, you wish to make the application alone, then your spouse's consent is necessary.

Q. My wife and I are separated but not divorced yet. Do I still need her consent?

No, you don’t. In fact, your spouse's consent is not required under the following circumstances:

1. if your spouse cannot be found;
2. if your spouse is considered incapable of giving consent (such as where he/she suffers from severe mental illness ; or
3. if you have separated from your spouse and the separation is likely to be permanent (i.e. divorce is very likely).

2. Natural parents’ or guardians’ consent

This is understandably hardest to obtain, as it is painful for the parents to give up their children.

Most adoptive parents will insist that the natural parents do not know and will not be able to trace who they are. This is perhaps one of the main reason why they should engage a reliable family lawyer who is familiar with the procedure of keeping the actual names away from public records.

The last act required of the natural parent is to sign the Consent. If the adoptive parents do not want the natural parents to know who they are, all the papers filed after the natural parents had signed the Consent form will not be shown to them. The lawyers should then apply to the Court for permission to keep the new identity of the adopted child and that of all the parents secret.

The custody of the baby is usually handed to the adopters at the point when the Consent of the natural parent/s has been signed. Most people also regard this as the point where the natural parents’ rights and duties have ended.

If the natural parents are dead, then the consent must be from the guardian or the person having custody or the person liable to take care of the child.

Q. The baby I want to adopt is born to a single mother who is only thirteen years old. Must I also get her parents’ consent?

Yes. If the natural mother is under 21 years old, the consent of either of her parents is required.

Q. What about the natural father's consent?

If the natural father is unknown and his name is not on the birth certificate, his consent is not needed. However, if you know or the family knows who he is, then you must try to locate him to get his consent.

If you can’t find him, then you can ask the Court (by a formal application known as summons in chambers) to order that his Consent is not required. You must provide proof that you made serious attempts to locate the natural father but they were not successful.

Q. What if I found the natural father but he refuses to sign the Consent or objects to the adoption?

In this case, you can still apply to Court to dispense with (i.e. not to require) the consent. If the natural parent objects, he must be given a chance to go to Court and explain why.

If the Court does not think there is a good reason for the natural father to refuse to give his Consent, the Court can disregard the father's refusal.

Needless to say, if the child was born as the result of rape or incest, the natural father's consent is not required.

Q. This baby was found at my door one morning. After three months, the Authorities have not found out who her parents or guardians are. How do I get their consent or the consent of the baby's caretaker?

Their consent is not required if:-

1. They have abandoned, neglected, persistently ill-treated the child or cannot be found. Once they are located however, you must inform them that you intend to adopt the child;
2. They are not physically or mentally fit to take care of the infant permanently. Again, you have to give them reasonable notice of your intention of adoption; or
3. The Court finds other reasonable grounds to do so after considering all the circumstances of the case. Any party giving their consent must understand what an Adoption Order really means.