Adoption is a legal act that establishes a kinship relationship with a bond analogous to maternity or paternity.
From the Latin adoptio , adoption is the action of adopting . This verb refers to receiving as a child someone who is not biologically one , with compliance with various requirements and obligations established by law .
Adoption, in this sense, is a legal act that establishes a kinship bond between two people with a relationship analogous to paternity. The legislation establishes various conditions for those who wish to adopt a child, such as a minimum and/or maximum age and the need to have full capacity to exercise civil rights.
For example: "Miguel's adoption has changed our lives," "I would love to have a child, but the adoption procedures are very complex," "My biological parents gave me up for adoption when I was two years old," "Adoption is an act of love and commitment .
Types of adoption
In some cases, it is possible to distinguish between simple adoption (it does not imply the automatic substitution of surnames and the adopted child does not have the same right as the natural child in the order of testamentary succession) and full adoption (it provides the same rights as the natural filiation).
International adoption is known as the adoption through which a couple becomes the legal and permanent carrier of a child born in another country . This is usually the case of men and women from developed countries who travel to third world nations to adopt a child.
Single-parent adoption , finally, is adoption by a homosexual couple . This type of adoption is only authorized by certain legislations, since it still has a high level of social rejection in many countries.
Pet adoption is a very common practice that is usually carried out without formal requirements or documents.
General requirements
Although in each country the requirements for adopting a child are slightly different, there are certain patterns that all nations follow to provide this right only to certain people.
First is the age of the adopting individuals. Logically, there is a minimum age to be able to take care of another person, since it is necessary to enjoy all the rights and be able to comply with all the obligations of an adult to embark on this particular and difficult task.
To cite two examples, in Spain it is required that one of the parties be 25 years old, while in Argentina the minimum is 30, although it is possible to reduce it by proving a marriage of at least 3 years or, speaking of heterosexual couples, certifying through a doctor the woman's inability to get pregnant. The complexity of this requirement does not end here, since in each country there are exceptions and special cases.
But the numbers present more obstacles when requesting an adoption, since a maximum distance between the age of the adoptee and that of the younger of the two adopters is also usually required. Sometimes, as is the case with Argentine legislation, it is also necessary to exceed the age of the adoptee by at least 18 years , which is taken as a guarantee that his or her parents will have the necessary maturity to assume his or her upbringing responsibly.
Another of the most common requirements is usually to have permanent residence in the country of the application, or to have resided there for a certain time; Needless to say, this only occurs in countries where international adoption is not accepted.
Adoption and bureaucracy
The adoption process is hard and slow, and it is necessary to go through a series of phases to demonstrate that you have the necessary skills to face the education of a child, but also the legitimate will to do so.
To verify the veracity of a request, different measures are usually used, such as interviews and visits to the applicants' homes.