An adoption order made by a court in England and Wales is normally irreversible, once the time limits for appeal have passed. This premise will be under scrutiny in October, when a re-hearing of an earlier fact-finding family court decision is scheduled.
In a case heard in April and May but published just last week, Re X [2016] EWHC 1342 (Fam), the President of the Family Division, Sir James Munby, gave permission for a full re-hearing of the original allegations made in care proceedings in 2012 involving an injury to child, now aged four, who was adopted in 2015. The problem that has since arisen is that the criminal proceedings brought against the parents, later in 2015, were dropped part-way through the trial. The trial judge directed that the parents be acquitted, as there was no case to answer. The standard of proof in a criminal case is of course higher than in a family case, but the parents now want that family case overturned. This is understandable, because if they want to have more children, or to work with children in the future, the family court finding will still say they pose a risk. However, their barrister told the President that if they were successful at the re-hearing, they would go on to challenge the adoption itself.
So, can an adoption ever be undone? There are only a handful of reported cases on this. (The older ones are not on BAILII.)
1. In 1991, a father was granted leave to appeal out of time against the adoption of his children by their step father with the mother, because he had agreed to the adoption without knowing that his ex-wife was terminally ill. After her death, the children returned to live with their father. The court here decided that his consent had not been valid, and the orders were set aside. (Re M (Minors) (adoption) [1991] 1 FLR 458 CA)
2. In 1995, a 35-year-old man discovered that his birth father was of Muslim origin although he had been adopted and brought up as Jewish. He encountered suspicion when he wanted to settle in Israel and applied to set his own adoption aside. The Court of Appeal did not agree, saying the court had no power to do this, in the absence of any procedural irregularity or mistake. (Re B (Adoption: Jurisdiction to set aside) [1995] Fam 239 CA)
2. In 1997, an orphan from Bosnia was adopted in England by foster carers, although she still had close relatives who were alive and wanted to care for her. The proceedings here were found to be flawed, as the judge had not made any direction to try to trace any relevant family or services in Bosnia. The adoption order was set aside as it had been made in breach of natural justice, because a party who should have been heard had not been notified. (Re K (Adoption and Wardship) [1997] 2 FLR 221 CA
3. More recently, in 2009, Mr and Mrs Webster famously applied for permission to appeal out of time against adoptions of their three oldest children. This was because there was later doubt about the medical evidence in the care proceedings. In the Court of Appeal. Sir Nicholas Wall said:
‘In my judgment, however, the public policy considerations relating to adoption, and the authorities on the point – which are binding on this court – simply make it impossible for this court to set aside the adoption orders even if, as Mr and Mrs Webster argue, they have suffered a serious injustice.
This is a case in which the court has to go back to first principles. Adoption is a statutory process. The law relating to it is very clear. The scope for the exercise of judicial discretion is severely curtailed. Once orders for adoption have been lawfully and properly made, it is only in highly exceptional and very particular circumstances that the court will permit them to be set aside.’
4. In Re W [2013] EWHC 1957 Fam, a different type of situation had arisen. A local authority asked the High Court to use its inherent jurisdiction to set aside an adoption order that had been made nine years ago, because the arrangements had broken down. The judge refused, explaining that:
‘Balancing the advantages and disadvantages, I have come to the clear conclusion that I should refuse leave to invoke the inherent jurisdiction. It is far less likely than likely that a revocation order would ultimately come to be made and the ‘process’ would stir up all the sorts of potential problems at the human level which I have tried to envisage. In short, it is a Pandora’s box and the court should in my view only go there if it seems proportionate, necessary and reasonably likely to be ultimately successful. I do not think that the application fulfils those pre-requisites.
The fact is that G is doing very well at the foster placement, a placement which may, if the [new] care proceedings are concluded sooner rather than later, be consolidated and made permanent for her. If everything is well explained to her by the social worker in child-appropriate language, it may well be that this whole issue will naturally resolve and that, like any non-adopted child removed from her parents to other carers, G will gradually settle down in her new environment. There must be a reasonable expectation that this is actually what will happen once the litigation process is withdrawn from her life.’
5. However, in the recent case of PK v K, a 14-year-old girl herself wanted to reverse an adoption that was based on a private agreement, having been abused by the relatives who adopted her when she was four, and subsequently returning to live with her mother. The adopters took no part in these proceedings. The judge, Pauffley J, pointed out that all adults in the case were fully informed, the girl was happily settled with her mother, and:
‘… against the background described, there would be emotionally harmful consequences for PK if she were to remain the adopted child of Mr and Mrs K.
The only advantage of a refusal of the application to revoke the adoption order would be the public policy considerations in upholding a validly made adoption order.
I am in no doubt. The right course is to allow both applications in these highly exceptional and very particular circumstances and for the reasons given.’
So it can be seen from this brief review of the cases that the court will be looking closely at the individual child’s welfare in balancing any policy factors.
I will be interested to see what part, if any, the report of the Council of Europe in March 2015 plays in the court case later this year. http://semantic-pace.net/tools/pdf.aspx?doc=aHR0cDovL2Fzc2VtYmx5LmNvZS5pbnQvbncveG1sL1hSZWYvWDJILURXLWV4dHIuYXNwP2ZpbGVpZD0yMTU2NyZsYW5nPUVO&xsl=aHR0cDovL3NlbWFudGljcGFjZS5uZXQvWHNsdC9QZGYvWFJlZi1XRC1BVC1YTUwyUERGLnhzbA==&xsltparams=ZmlsZWlkPTIxNTY3
It is stated there – in terms – that the UK is wrong to refuse to revoke adoption orders when there is a miscarriage of justice, and our refusal to do so is based on a ‘misunderstanding’ of the rights of the child.
As the President was clearly so keen to involve the European politicians in the debate that he delayed his judgement in re N by 7 months, I am sure he will need to say something about this. Which is interesting, because it is a very different focus from the discussions in the Webster case.
Under old legislation, there are a few cases where adoptions were set aside for procedural reasons. Re F (1970): Adoption order set aside where notice of proceedings not served on mother – not enough had been done to find her. That was a breach of natural justice. Re RA (1974): Adoption order in favour of an unmarried couple was void for lack of jurisdiction as unmarried couples could not adopt in 1974. Re F (1977): An adoption order granted to a couple as husband and wife whose marriage turns out to be void for (accidental) bigamy, is itself not automatically void but is voidable; court deferred addressing that particular hornets’ nest. More recently, there is Re PW [2013] 1 FLR 96 which concerned a very old adoption order.
It seems to me that judges can set aside the order because ‘this case is exceptional and has no wider policy consequences’ or they can give greater weight to the policy consequences and the need for adopters (as in Re W 2013 ), and I suspect that in any given case they could have justified any outcome. Perhaps not in Webster as it was high profile: that helped them retain their son, but undoing the other children’s adoption could have affected adopters coming forward.
It is difficult to discern a pattern among cases although procedural fairness seems to be a weightier consideration than substantive fairness, perhaps because the former is quicker to resolve before the adoption ‘beds in’. Instinctively we respond that Re M, Re B, and Re K were decided right. But Webster attracts no consensus apart from terrible pity.
Thanks, I didn’t know about Re PW in 2011, summarised here –
http://www.4pb.com/case-detail/re-pw-2011/
Adopted at 17 then trying to set aside aged 69. Sad – but by that point her welfare didn’t seem to concern the court.
Can I ask, my son was adopted at an early age with my ex wife and her new husband. Much to my annoyance as I was not in control of my life at the time.
Since then we have found each other and are very much “in tune”
He apparently was not the ideal son to his adoptive parents and they seemingly have rebutted him since.
He now has two wonderful daughters, my granddaughters, who are going to ask questions regarding their origins.
The birth and adoptive mother of my son doesn’t appear to want to be interested.
Would it be possible to annul the adoption so the birth mother can still have contact at will, but the father of my grandchildren can have a name they can relate to.
Hi Keith, as I think our blog post and other comments show, it would be truly exceptional for an adoption order to be overturned, although we can’t give legal advice on this website. From what you have written, your grand daughters will grow up with a positive relationship with you and your son, and won’t be too worried about the past formalities.
Is there any basis in statute for these cases or did the court exercise its inherent jurisdiction to make these judgements?
Please, may I ask a question? My stepson (28 years old; my husband’s son from a previous relationship) was adopted by his stepfather as an infant. His relationship with his mother and adoptive father has been non-existent for many years. He contacted my husband (his birth father) a year ago and we have developed a wonderful relationship. He has now asked if my husband and I would adopt him and become his parents legally as well as emotionally. We would dearly love to, but I understand there is no adult adoption in the UK. Is my understanding correct, and is there another route to achieve the same result?
Elizabeth, Adoption orders aren’t usually made after a child attains his majority at 18, but I’m afraid the Transparency Project don’t give legal advice so this is really something you should check out with a lawyer.
Lucy
If you try to stop a adoption. Is it a revoke to the court you need to do?
Hi my child was adopted in 2016 he was originally placed for an adoption order back in 2014 however I appealed those final decisions however my time scaling was too late and even though of this I was accepted my appeal later on in July 2015 However iun January 2016 when the appeal hearings toke place I have found out that I was indeed pregnant again and the only way to move on with my life was to let it be with my first child it has now been three years and social services have just closed my case allowing me to look after my other two youngest daughters that have now been born. of course im struggling really hard to accept this and im wondering if any way what so ever I can try to overturn this adoption order as it was said by justice lord MccFarlen if there is any doubt a mother can provide full basic care needs than there is no better place than with a mother for that child. I need to be pointed in the way of someone who specializes in adoption law or to even know if I even stand a chance at getting my son home.
Hi Sophie, It looks like your comment was approved without us responding to say that unfortunately we can’t provide legal advice. The article you have commented on gives some general information about how difficult it is to overturn an adoption order once made, but you would need to give an experienced lawyer a lot more information before they could give you advice specific to your case. I’m afraid The Transparency Project doesn’t offer that service. You could try Family Rights Group helpline or look up legal aid child care solicitors on the gov.uk website.
i am writing a dissertation on adoption removal and wondered if anyone has any articles that would be off interest. many thanks.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/last-wish-give-me-back-my-true-identity-says-adopted-man-20190330-p5195i.html?fbclid=IwAR0WAsO3PQm7ACxDhtitkG18uwbScsMHWFd_FMc4lCgXw8dAaATgcuBazKY
This is a link to an article about a man whose dying wish was to have his adoption voided. He was unable to get it voided and died earlier this year.
I am an adoptee interested in adoption removal. I would love to talk to you about it.
I am also writing my dissertation on the revocation of adoption orders, would love to discuss
Hi there
I have recently had first hand experience of adoption process from the foster carer and advocate for the childrens point of view.This was a very damaging unprofessional process.alI am happy to help with your dissertation with a view to possible change in the future.It seems financially driven by local authorities.
The Adoption of my 17 year old child by my ex and new partner was unlawfully acquired, by a series of lies and false statements, but regardless of my ability to prove those statements to be false in court, my objections to the adoption were overruled because my child had “allegedly” requested to be adopted. (had my child requested to be allowed to take heroin aswell should a court also comply?) it is a fact of this new century that “Adoption” is now the new “tool” in the arsenal of the coercive and controlling resident parent that wants to annihilate the bond between a child or children against their other birth parent. The law wrongly treating DNA fact of parenthood as removable from “official” records while at the same time suggesting that adoption rulings are final, is beyond out of date and certainly not keeping pace with the times we live in. Parental Alienation is real, and unless you have been through it yourself, all the legal education in the world would not prepare you for the night after night trauma of separation. A separation which you are fully aware your own child is also being subjected to, while you are helpless to protect them. They are being brainwashed to hate one parent and worship the other, and the courts are largely inept to recognize their own part in the abuse of these alienated children. Alienating parents lie in family courtrooms because the courts allow them to make unproven statements without punishment. My own child’s best interests were never served by any family court in the 23 years my ex has been using our child as a weapon against me. yes 23 years!(most recently by actively pushing our child to ask the Police to bring charges of harassment against me for keeping in touch via cards and e-mail. Under the more professional scrutiny of the criminal court system i was (naturally) found Not Guilty. If only family courts took our child’s welfare as seriously as the criminal court does by insisting on the same level of scrutiny in testing the “evidence” and not just relying on the hearsay and stories of feuding ex-partners. We seek redress in pompously backward and slow moving family courts, at a time when it takes less that a minute for a vindictive ex on social media to blacken your name with suggestive “stories” that quickly spread as fact. If you tolerate this… then your children could be next.
Hi, I’ve anonymised your comment for legal reasons given there have been (I think) recent proceedings but thank you for making the points you have. Annie
Just wondering ,my sons were adopted a year ago while i was going through personal issues.We did get a letter box contact but i was wondering if its possible to see them even once a year
MF, it’s not possible to answer your question – firstly because there is not enough information in your message to know the answer, but more importantly because we don’t give legal advice. If you want to pursue contact with an adopted child you would need to speak to a lawyer or social services – without knowing what was in the care plan when the child was placed for adoption its difficult to know what the chances of securing face to face contact might be. Sorry we can’t be of more help.
Hi,
I also would like my own adoption to be annulled I haven’t been around my adopted family in over 20 year’s due the ill treatment of myself whilst in there care.At the time of the adoption back in 1983 when I was 13 I was a very confused child and I didn’t understand what was going on in the court during my adoption….
I didn’t want it to go ahead but was too scared to say so at the time due to my fear of the adopted parents….
My first name changed as well as my last due to having my first name changed it caused me great distress having to persistently tell my class mates my new first name whilst they called me by my original first name all the time my PE teacher at the time said it was wrong that my first name was changed this is still a issue to this day…
I found out 10 years ago that another family wanted to adopt me before the ones in question I loved them dearly even to this day they told me that they tried to put it forward to adopt me but we’re told by social services that because I was black and they we’re white it couldn’t happen because the rules had changed for a black child to be adopted by black families that news broke my heart love is love no Matter the skin colour…
So back to my question can I have my adoption annulled,
Kind Regards,
Joshua.
Hi Joshua,
We’re sorry to hear about your situation, which sounds very distressing. We can’t give legal advice I’m afraid, but as the post makes clear it is generally very difficult to overturn an adoption order even when the adopted person is still a child.
We hope you find some peace regardless.
My biological son was adopted by his stepfather with my agreement at the age of six. From the age of 18+ my son and I and my wife have established an extremely close and loving relationship with regular contact. A few years ago my son’s adoptive father died. My son is now 60. Would he have a good case for reversing/annulling/revoking the original adoption – if he so wished – on the grounds of (a) having been too young to agree to the adoption at the time, (b) wanting to formalize the close family relationship with myself and my wife, and (c) qualifying to benefit from inheritance tax rules on my property when I die?
Hello Phil,
We can’t really go further than the post in giving general information about how hard it is to overturn an adoption order. I’m afraid we don’t give legal advice.
TP Team
My ex wife and I adopted a little girl in 2009, but my then wife did not have her permanent status in this country and obtained this 12 months after the adoption under article 8 HRA.
We divorced in 2012 and she has made countless false and malicious allegations against me, which have been proven so.
I managed to obtain a court order for child contact, which for the most part has worked well with joint custody.
However my ex has been poisoning my adoptive daughters mind against me and now she has refused to speak to me or even visit me. I have tried to speak to my adoptive daughter, but she flatly refuses to.
With all this in mind and that I have had nothing but pain from this adoption, would I be able to apply to reverse my adoption of this little girl?
J I’m afraid we don’t give legal advice at TP. However, it is very unusual for an adoption order to be reversed, and your circumstances don’t match with the sorts of cases where they have been reversed before. If the adoption were undone that would be a significant feature in your daughter‘s life story, and likely one with lifelong implications for her.
Hi, My husband adopted my 2 children in 2017. Since then he has become aggressive and violent towards the children which resulted in my 12 year old son dialling 999 when he was hit again and having his father arrested for assault. He has also been aggressive and violent to wards my daughter who is now 11. The marriage has broken down, there is a non-molestation order in place and my daughter wants nothing to do with her adoptive father and is adamant she wants this reversed. Is there any way in which this can be done. It is making distressed and frightened.
Hi, we are not able to give legal advice but you will see from the blog post that the answer is probably No. If you and your children still feel threatened by your former partner, please approach a domestic abuse adviser or a solicitor for help.
It is disturbing to read that the burden of proof in family courts is lower than in the criminal courts, given the draconian nature of adoption. Perhaps this is why children’s services feel at liberty to muddy their reports, deliberating failing to clarify between fact, evidence and opinion.
It will also be interesting to hear what the High Court of Appeal have to say in the case I’m involved in, where it transpires the community interest company, created by the local authority, and lauded by the government and ofsted as ‘innovative’ where not registered as an adoption or fostering agency for the first four years of operating, therefore making all placements illegal. I will imagine they will attempt to sweep that fact under the carpet, in the same way the courts time limited investigations into the known falsification of drug testing by Randox to cases up until 2012, despite knowing these irregularities were still happening up until 2017. The term kangaroo courts comes to mind.
I would be very interested to learn more about this case and it’s eventual outcome.
My birth mother is American and birth father British. She remarried when I was 3 to another British man and moved to the states. She pressed for the step fathers adoption to allow me to exit the country. He left my mother when I was 10. Then with no communication I found out he died some time ago. My bio father qnd I reconnected in my early 20s and my mother has since passed. Am I able to apply for a reversal of my adoption if my bio father has agreed also?
Hi N, we are not able to give legal advice on this site. We hope the blog post and other replies posted are helpful, but if the adoption order was made in the US, the law would be different.
Hi I was adopted by my Aunty in 1970, she was my dads sister. I grew up thinking my dad and my sisters were uncle and cousins.
My adopted parents have now passed away and so my dad but they disowned me after me finding my adoption papers.
Can an adult reverse an adoption like this as I have now found that I have Irish and Bajan heritage through my real mums side. Or is this now impossible? Thx
Shirley, We can’t give legal advice via this blog. As the post makes clear it is generally very difficult to overturn an adoption order, but we can’t say whether it would be possible in your case.