Adoption
Adoption is a beautiful way to bring a child into your family or to legally solidify the relationship you have with a step-child. Adoption is, at its core, when one or more adults ask the Court to grant them parentage over a child, or less commonly, another adult.
Types of Adoptions:
A lawyer has a minimal role in the adoption process compared to the work required of the parents, children, adoption agency, social workers and government official. The lawyer largely assists with preparing some of the documents that are needed to present to the Court in an application. Lawyers typically will not participate in the process of finding an eligible child within or outside of Saskatchewan. Adoption in Saskatchewan is binding and irrevocable. An adoptive parent has all of the same rights and responsibilities that a biological parent may have for a child.
R&R Legal Group can help you with preparing the paperwork required, and making any Court applications that are necessary to formalize your expanding family.
Private Adoptions
Private adoptions, or independent adoptions, are agreements made between biological parents and adoptive parents regarding the adoption of a child. There are no private adoption agencies in Saskatchewan. Most private adoptions in this province happen through personal relationships.
Should you be considering a private adoption, you and the biological parents will need to contact a Ministry approved independent practitioner who will conduct an assessment of all parties to determine if the adoption is appropriate. A lawyer assists by completing the application package and filing it with the Court. There are specific requirements regarding independent legal advice and other elements that need to be reviewed and compiled with for the Court to approve the adoption.
Step-Parent Adoptions
Step-parent adoptions are when a step-parent wishes to legally bind themselves to their step-child, legally cementing the rights and responsibilities between them.
Consent will likely be required from the biological parent who is not in a relationship with the step-parent seeking to adopt. A meeting with a lawyer will help to clarify the rules regarding step-parent adoption.
Domestic Adoptions
An Agency adoption is an adoption that is the most common form of adoption, in that parents work with the Ministry of Social Services to receive permanent legal guardianship of a child. Check out Adoption Support Centre of Saskatchewan for further information and to begin the process.
International Adoptions
A parent or parents seeking to adopt a child from outside of Canada will face some bureaucratic hurdles that need to be lawfully cleared for the adoption to be recognized in Canada and the originating nation of the child. The first step is to contact the Ministry of Social Services’ Intercountry Adoption Unit and speak with a worker regarding the process.
Adult Adoptions
A less common form of adoption in Saskatchewan, is when one or more adults choose to adopt another adult (18+ years). In these cases, the only consent required is the consent of the adopter and the adoptee.
Adult adoptions typically will not assist a party seeking to immigrate to Canada. Should you, or your adoptive love one, be seeking to immigrate to Canada, it would be best to contact an immigration lawyer for further information.