Adoption

Adoption creates an artificial legal filiation by court decision. Adopting a minor requires that the child has been cared for and raised by the adopter for the statutory period, that the adoption serves the child's interests and, where the child has capacity of discernment, the child's consent.

The Code prescribes a minimum age difference between adopter and adoptee, joint adoption by spouses as the rule, and minimum-age conditions for unmarried adopters. Parental consent is essential, though it may be dispensed with where the parents are unknown or have gravely neglected their duties. Adults may also be adopted in the situations listed by statute, such as long-term care.

Upon the decision, the adoptee becomes the adopter's legal heir while retaining inheritance rights in the birth family. A minor takes the adopter's surname and custody passes to the adopter. Because the process includes agency-led assessment and monitoring stages, it requires lengthy preparation.