Assistance with the adoption of a child

Oleh*'s family has two minor children, but he is not the biological father of his eldest son. For many years, Oleg* has been taking care of the boy, so he decided to go through the legal procedure of adoption. A lawyer from the NGO STEP, a partner of the Danish Refugee Council (DRC), helped him with this.

The lawyer explained the grounds for adoption and provided step-by-step advice on the procedure. She also described the adoption procedure and provided a list of documents to start it.

The lawyer then helped to file an application with the guardianship and custody authority, prepared the necessary documents, and supported the application review procedure. According to the conclusion of the guardianship and custody authority, such an adoption was possible and in the best interests of the child: the biological father did not care about the child's fate and was deprived of parental rights. The child was actually raised by Oleh* and for many years he was involved in his upbringing, so the son considers him his own father.

The next step was to apply to the court in a separate proceeding for the adoption of a minor child and to amend the child's birth record to change the information about the child's father, as well as to change the child's surname and patronymic.

The lawyer helped to prepare the application and documents for the court, as well as to prepare for the trial. In the end, the court fully granted the application for adoption.

Now Oleg* is not only a de facto but also a legal father of his son. Documentary evidence of such family ties is now very important for protecting the rights and interests of children.

Receiving free legal aid in Zaporizhzhia region was made possible thanks to the cooperation of the NGO “STEP” with the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) and funding under the civil protection and humanitarian aid of the European Union.

*Name changed