Can An Adoption Be Reversed By The Courts?
Adoption is a very unusual form of legal action because it takes away such an important legal set of rights from birth parents and assigns them totally to another person or couple. Even the child’s birth certificate is taken away by the court and replaced by an adoption certificate implying that the status of the child at birth is now irrelevant. Many adoptive parents believe that the legal ruling on any adoption is irreversible. This is technically untrue and modern advice is that the order can be overturned but only in exceptional circumstances. It has also long been the case that a further adoption order can be made removing parenting rights from the adoptive parents. It is common for birth parents to challenge adoption proceedings before they are finalized. It is quite unusual for them to prevent adoption proceedings although success at an earlier stage in contesting care orders is more common. The controversy over expert witnesses in child abuse cases did lead to speculation that
