“My husband and I are unfortunately unable to have children. A distant relative in the province has 7 children, the two youngest are 11 months old and a newborn baby of about 2 weeks old. Due to financial constraints, he offered us to adopt his two. younger children. We take the children home after we signed an Adoption Agreement and had it notarized. I would like our children to carry my husband’s name to formalize their status. How do we do this? “

First things first, a simple adoption agreement entered into between the parents and the prospective adoptive parents is invalid. This is because adoption procedures are judicial in nature. The signing of the Adoption Agreement did not ipso facto separate the parental authority of the parents over their two children and conferred it on the adoptive parents. The jurisprudence establishes that to establish the relationship, the legal requirements must be strictly met, otherwise, the adoption is an absolute nullity.

National adoption is governed by Republic Law 8552, which establishes guidelines on the requirements and procedures for adopting a child.

Who can adopt?

1) Any Filipino citizen who is of legal age, who possesses full civil capacity and legal rights, of good moral character, has not been convicted of any crime that involves moral depravity, emotionally and psychologically capable of caring for children, at least sixteen years old older than the person to be adopted and who is in a position to support and care for their children according to the means of the family;

2) Any foreigner who possesses the same qualifications indicated above for Filipino citizens, provided that:

a) The foreign country has diplomatic relations with the Republic of the Philippines;

b) The foreigner has been living in the Philippines for at least three (3) continuous years prior to the filing of the adoption application and maintains said residence until the adoption decree is entered;

c) The foreigner has been certified by the diplomatic or consular office or any appropriate government agency that he has legal capacity to adopt in his country;

d) That the foreign government allows the adoptee to enter the foreign country as his or her son or daughter.

Who can be adopted?

(a) Any person under the age of eighteen (18) who has been declared administratively or judicially available for adoption;

(b) The legitimate child of one of the spouses by the other spouse;

(c) An illegitimate child of a qualified adopter to improve his / her condition to that of legitimacy;

(d) A person of legal age if, prior to the adoption, such person has been consistently considered and treated by the adopter (s) as his own minority child;

e) A child whose adoption has been previously annulled; gold

(f) A child whose biological or adoptive parent (s) has died: Provided that no proceeding shall be initiated within six (6) months from the time of the death of said parent (s).

Who is a child declared available for adoption?

A child who has been voluntarily or involuntarily committed to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) or a duly authorized and accredited child care or placement agency, released from the parental authority of his biological parents or guardian or adopters in case of rescission of the adoption.

“I am financially stable and not married. Can I adopt on my own?”

Yes. According to RA 8552, the husband and wife must adopt jointly, except in the following cases:

(1) When one of the spouses seeks to adopt their own illegitimate child; gold

(2) When one of the spouses seeks to adopt the legitimate child of the other; gold

(3) When the spouses are legally separated.

Also, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) allows a person to adopt a child if they can show that they are capable of adopting a child. As long as the applicant meets all the requirements and has shown adequate motivation to want to care for a child, they will be considered. A prospective lone adoptive parent will also need to go through the same couple adoption process.

What is the procedure for national adoption?

Prospective parents or lone parents who wish to adopt should first attend DSWD adoption forums to assess their motivation and receive advice from a licensed social worker.

The petition shall be filed in the Regional Court of First Instance of the province or city where the prospective adoptive parents reside. Thereafter, the Court will issue an Order that will include a directive for the publication of the Petition in a newspaper of general circulation and a directive for the court social worker to conduct a home study report.

Thereafter, the court-appointed social worker will conduct the home study and submit the report. If the report is approved, there will be a family matching or selection process, where the petitioner meets the prospective adoptee. During the hearing, the petitioner and the adoptee must appear in person and the former must testify before the judge who presides over the court.

Subsequently, the prospective parents would be authorized to obtain physical custody of the child for a trial period of six months. If the trial produces satisfactory results, DSWD will issue an adoption consent. The adoptive parents would have to submit a short petition for the adoption to be finalized.

The final step would be the issuance of an amended birth certificate that will state the name of the child that the adoptive parents want him to take.