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What are the substantive conditions regarding the persons who may be adopted and which law regulates the adoption procedure?
The conditions of adoption are regulated by the provisions of the Civil Code, art. 451-482.
The first substantive condition regarding the person who can be adopted refers to age, the Civil Code regulating that a person can be adopted until they acquire full legal capacity. However, the person who has acquired full legal capacity can be adopted, the condition being that the person had been increased raised, during the minority, by the person wishing to adopt. This is a process during which interested individuals can request specialized legal aid from our Romanian lawyers.
The law provides a few special conditions regarding the adoptions of brothers and sisters, stipulating that the adoption of brothers and sisters, regardless of gender, by different individuals or families can only be done if this is in their best interests. Moreover, adoption between siblings is prohibited, regardless of gender.
The Civil Code also prohibits the adoption of two spouses or former spouses by the same adopter or adoptive family, as well as the adoption between two spouses or former spouses. The team of experts at our law firm in Romania can provide more details on the limitations for adoption.
What are the conditions stipulated by the law regarding the person who wants to adopt?
The Romanian Civil Code prohibits adoptions by persons who do not have full legal capacity and by persons with mental illness and mental disabilities.
In terms of age of the adopter, art. 460 stipulates that the adopter must be at least 18 years older than the adoptee.
However, the guardianship court can approve the adoption even if the age difference between the adopter and the adoptee is less than 18, but not less than 16 years, for good reasons. If this is the case, our lawyers in Romania can assist.
Furthermore, an essential condition to be respected by the adopter refers to moral guarantees and material conditions necessary for the growth, education and harmonious development of the child. Regarding the simultaneous or succesive adoption, by two people, the law prevents this unless they are husband and wife. What’s more, two people of the same sex can not adopt together. You can reach out to the experts at our Romanian law firm to find out if you qualify.
Who are the persons who have to give their consent to the adoption?
According to art. 463, in order to complete an adoption, the following persons must give their consent:
- biological parents or guardian of a child whose biological parents are deceased, unknown, declared dead, missing or under interdiction;
- adoptee who is at least 10 years old;
- adopter or adoptive family spouses when they adopt together;
- the spouse of the adopter, except for the case in which the lack of discernment makes them unable to manifest their will.
The consent granted in consideration of the promise or procuremend of actual benefits, regardless of their nature, is not considered valid. Our lawyers in Romania can give you more details on what is a valid consent.
The consent of the other parent if sufficient if one of the biological parents is unknown, dead, declared dead, or if he is, for any reason, unable to express his will. When both parents are in one of these situations, the adoption may be concluded without their consent. You can find out more on the importance of consent for adoption from our Romanian lawyers.
The parent or parents that were deprived of the exercise of their parental rights or to whom the penalty of deprivation of parental rights was applied will retain the right to consent to the adoption of the child. In such cases, the consent of the person who exercises the parental authority is also required.
For further information regarding the substantive conditions of adoption under the laws of Romania, regarding both the adopted person and the adopter, do not hesitate to contact one of the Romanian lawyers specialized in civil law within the law firm Darie, Manea & associates. Our lawyers will offer you competent legal advice, as well as representation before the competent authorities when needed.