Adoption procedure and adoption mediation

You want to give your child up for adoption and the child agrees, but the other parent has not given the necessary consent? Then the family court can replace this missing consent in certain exceptional cases.

The replacement of consent is intended to prevent significant negative consequences for the child concerned if it cannot be adopted. Mild disadvantages do not justify replacing consent to an adoption.

If a parent shows indifference towards the child, the youth welfare office must inform them that it is possible to replace their consent. It must point out to the parent that the family court may only replace the consent 3 months after the instruction.

This instruction is not required if the whereabouts of the other parent are not known and cannot be established within 3 months despite efforts by the Youth Welfare Office.

This consultation does not take place if

• the child has already been in the care of the family wishing to adopt it for some time, and
• serious harm to the child would be expected if the child were taken into the household of the parent.

In cases where, for example, you as the mother have sole parental custody, the youth welfare office must advise the father about his legal options. This refers, for example, to the possibility of the father applying for sole parental custody of the child.

For every form of adoption, personal contact with the responsible employees of the adoption agency is required.