Question:
Which court in Israel deals with the issue of adoption of children?
Answer:
As a rule the family court has jurisdiction , according to both the 1981 Adoption Law and the Family Courts Act of 1995. Appeals on adoption rulings made by the family court are heard by the District Court, and the Supreme Court hears appeals on District Court rulings.
Religious Court Can Hear Adoption Cases
Question:
My wife and I are a religiously observant Jewish couple. We cannot have children and are considering adoption. Could the rabbinical court deal with the adoption process ?
Answer:
Yes. While primary jurisdiction for adoption lies with the family court, under the Adoption Law, however, if either the biological parents or the parents wishing to adopt , according to the circumstances, consent in writing, then a religious court can have jurisdiction if the child himself also agrees. If he is not able to understand the matter, or is under 9, the Attorney General can agree on his behalf.
Anonymity of Adoptive Parents
Question:
Does a biological parent who puts a child up for adoption have to approve the choice of the adoptive parents ?
Answer:
No ! The 1981 Adoption Act regulates the whole adoption process and states specifically : “ There is no need for the parents to know who the adopter is.”
Adoption – Parental Role Temporarily Held By Welfare Officer
Question:
If a parent has consented to give up his/her child for adoption, who is responsible for the minor, until the adoption is final ?
Answer:
Once a parent has consented to adoption, or the court has declared the child adoptable, and no guardian has been appointed for the minor, the rights, obligations and powers of that parent are vested in the welfare officer, until a further decision by the court.
Minimum Trial Period
Question:
Is there a minimum period that the child has to live with the adoptive parents before the court will grant an adoption order?
Answer:
Yes, six months.
Interim Adoption Order – Two Year Maximum
Question:
How long might a couple wishing to adopt a particular child have to wait until a decision is made about the adoption?
Answer:
A maximum of two years, from the time the child is declared "adoptable" by court. The 1981 Adoption Act says that the court is entitled to give an intermediate order placing the child with them, in which the rights and obligations of the couple towards the minor they wish to adopt, are set out, but the maximum “life” of the order is two years.
Young Child Absent From Parent’s Home – Grounds For Adoption
Question:
Can a young child who is not looked after by a parent but who stays with relatives and friends all the time, be taken away and put up for adoption, even against the parent’s will ?
Answer:
Quite possibly. The Adoption Act 1981 does provide for adoption, even where a parent does not consent. One of the grounds is where a child under the age of six is held outside the parental home for six months and the parent refuses to allow him/her home, without justification. If the Attorney General, or his representative, asks the court to declare the child “adoptable”, the family court has discretion to grant such an order even without the parent’s consent.
Single Mother - Biological Father Uninterested
Question:
I am a single mother and want to put up my baby for adoption. I know who the father is. I have no contact with him, and he wants nothing to do with the child, but refuses to sign any papers either. Can I go ahead with the adoption ?
Answer:
Firstly, a single mother who wishes to put her child up for adoption can consent to this. Regarding the unmarried biological father, the family court has discretion and can declare the child “adoptable” even without his consent, if he does not live with the mother and refuses without any reasonable cause to receive the child in his home .
Biological Father Fights Single Mother’s Adoption Wish
Question:
What is the legal position when a teenager gives birth after an unwanted pregnancy ,and the biological father fights the adoption procedure she has initiated ?
Answer:
Generally speaking, an adoption order will not be granted under the Adoption Law unless both biological parents agree. In exceptional circumstances the family court will declare a child “adoptable” even without this consent.
Thus if the teenager has the baby and then shortly afterwards gives the necessary written consent the child will be placed in a temporary foster home while the Attorney General applies for an order declaring the child “adoptable”. The biological father can start proceedings to get the baby handed over to him and the court will have to consider whether the exceptional circumstances apply. It would normally appoint a professional to assess the biological father and his situation.
The exceptional circumstances permitting the court to declare the child adoptable even if one biological parent refuses to consent to adoption is where (a) the parent is incapable of looking after the child properly due to his behaviour or situation and there is no chance of this improving with financial help and treatment and (b) refusal to consent is because of immoral reasons or an illegal purpose.
Adoption Reverse By Biological Mother
Question:
I am a single mother with a young daughter. The father is unknown. As I lost my job and could not make ends meet I agreed that she be put up for adoption and she moved in with a foster family. Now, several months later, I have found work. Can I get my daughter back ?
Answer:
Possibly. If an adoption order has not yet been given, then a parent can withdraw his/her consent to adoption. If, however, an adoption order has already been granted, it is not possible to withdraw consent, but the court can cancel the adoption order if certain circumstances were unknown or did not exist at the time it granted the order. This is so providing the court is satisfied that this is preferable and in the minor’s best interests.
Biological Mother Regains Parental Capability – Fights Adoption
Question:
If a parent held previously to lack parental capability starts to get his/her life together again and is shown to have "basic parental capability" when retested, is this enough to stop his/her child being adopted ?
Answer:
Not necessarily – as the level of parental ability required is relative to the particular child in question. It may not be enough in relation to the child if he/she has special needs.
For example in August 2005 the Supreme Court overruled a District Court appeal ruling transferring a child from his adoptive parents' to his biological mother for a six-month trial period . It held that although further tests showed that the single-parent mother , who had previously been said to totally lack parenting ability, now had basic parental capability, this was insufficient in relation to her 7 year old son . He had special needs due to organic and neurological problems, which demanded higher than average parenting, and had improved greatly whilst living with the adoptive family.
"There is no getting away from the conclusion that the welfare of the child before us demands him being declared "adoptable". If the minor were returned to the respondent at this state, this would be destructive and result in irreversible damage. The child's welfare demands that he remain with the family intending to adopt him," the court held, re-instating the original family court's ruling .
Psychological Report – Effects of Return to Biological Mother
Question:
What argument can be made against attempts by a biological mother to halt the adoption process so that a young child ,who has been raised by a couple hoping to adopt him/her, can continue doing so, and officially adopt him ?
Answer:
The argument should centre on the proposed adoption being in the minor's good and focus on the damage that he/she is likely to suffer if he/she is cut off from them, his/her main carers. In one adoption case which reached a further hearing at the Supreme Court in the 1990's a professional report dealing with the possible effect of a transfer of the child reference was made to "deep " and "irreversible" damage where the minor was very young.
The report said: " The harm which would occur following the severance of a young child from the people he recognizes as his parents, is the deepest, and not reversible. Those hurts develop into the most difficult disorders (psychoses and severe personality disorders), as one is talking about a child who cannot understand what is happening from an intellectual and balanced and experiences what is happening to him – as a deep loss, uncompromising, total."
Prospective Adoptive Parents – Legal Voice ?
Question:
If a child is in the process of being adopted, but the biological parent/s object to the adoption, what voice do the would-be adoptive parents, who have been raising the child, have in the process ?
Answer:
This question was at the heart of the appeal by the prospective adoptive parents in the adoption case concerning a year old boy that dominated the headlines of the Israeli media in June 2004. From the age of 10 days, the baby had been brought up by a married couple who had began the legal process of adoption. But shortly before the date for the decision on the granting of the adoption order, legal action was brought by the biological mother, who was later joined by the biological father, to prevent adoption and to raise the child themselves.
According to the 1981 Adoption Law during the "intermediate" period after the child is declared "adoptable" and transferred to prospective adoptive parents , the latter have no legal standing until the adoption order is granted.
In their appeal against the family court's decision to remove the baby from them, they asked to be joined as parties in the proceedings, on the basis of other legislation, not the Adoption Act itself. The Civil Procedure Rules allow a plea to be brought by "a close friend" of someone without legal capacity, the Family Courts' Act of 1995 gives a minor the right to file any claim, independently or via a "close friend" , where his rights are likely to be seriously infringed, or to make an application in a file brought by others. The Legal Capacity & Guardianship Law recognizes that a minor can be represented by a "practical guardian" in legal proceedings under the Civil Procedure Rules.
The appellants, the prospective adoptive parents , criticized the present situation whereby the people who are closest to the minor and know him better than anyone else have no legal right to see all the evidence or cross-examine those giving testimony. They said it contradicted the principle of the "child's good" and the "child's rights" , which are principles Israel is committed to, in its own domestic law, and in its international commitments, being bound by the 1988 International Convention on the Rights of the Child , from the year 1991.
Editor’s Note – The district court accepted the prospective adoptive parents’ argument and granted them legal standing, and recognized their right to be heard in the proceedings.
Adoption Proceedings – Confidentiality
Question:
How secret are adoption proceedings ?
Answers:
The 1981 Adoption Act makes specific mention of the confidentiality of proceedings. It states that hearings are to be held behind closed doors, although the court can hold them in public. It can allow a person or a specific group of people to attend all or part of the hearing.
Contact With Biological Family After Adoption – Yes or No
Question:
How can contact with a child's biological relative be kept up upon adoption ?
Answer:
When the family court grants an order declaring the child "adoptable" it can give specific instructions for the results of the adoption to be reduced so it is "open", rather than "closed" ,for the child's welfare. These can be in force until an adoption order is granted in relation to a suitable adoptive parent becomes final.
Later, when the court actually deals with an application for adoption by a potential adoptive parent , it is entitled to review the question of keeping it "open" . It can cancel , reduce or extend the "open" nature of the adoption, in keeping with the child's welfare, when it grants the adoption order. However, it must give the Attorney General's representative, any lawyer appointed to represent the child in the proceedings and the biological parent/relative the opportunity to express their opinion.
For example, in an adoption case heard by Jerusalem Family Court a minor girl was first declared "adoptable" in 2002, and the adoption process kept "open" in that contact was to be maintained with her biological mother and maternal grandmother. Instructions were given about the frequency and the nature of the contact, and how the authorities' should report back to court about progress regarding the suitability of a potential adoptive parent. Later on, in 2004, the court gave further instructions on the subject, linking them to the possibility of the potential adoptive parent filing an application to adopt.
‘Open’ or ‘Closed’ Adoption
Question:
On what basis will the court decide whether to allow a child who is going to be adopted to maintain contact with his or her biological parents ?
Answer:
The determining factor will be ‘the child’s good”. The Supreme Court has held that the decision whether continued contact is in the ‘child’s good’ will be made after the following have been assessed: (a) the minor’s needs and wishes (b) the minor’s existing relationship with his/her biological parents and (c) their ability to overcome ‘blood ties’ and allow the child’s rehabilitation with the adoptive family. Where all contact is ended the adoption is referred to as ‘closed’. Where some contact is retained it is referred to as ‘open’.
Adoptive Parents Object to 'Open' Adoption
Question:
Will a court allow contact between an adopted child and a biological parent if the adoptive parents object ?
Answer:
Most probably not, according to Supreme Court precedent. This has held that "Open" adoption – where contact between the child and the biological parent/s is maintained – is the exception to the rule of "Closed" Adoption. Successful "Open" adoption necessitates understanding between the two sets of parents so that the biological ones do not try and compete with the adoptive ones, but rather accept the situation. Where understanding/good relationship between the two sets of parents does not exist, and where the adoptive parents object to contact, then the adoption order is best left "Closed'.
Timing of Decision Re Closed or Open Adoption
Question:
When is a decision made about whether a child to be adopted will maintain some contact with his/her biological parent/s ?
Answer:
In principle the decision about whether the adoption will be ‘closed’ or ‘open’ is made when the court gives an order declaring the child ‘adoptable’. However, in exceptional cases, where the circumstances of the case demand it, the decision can be delayed until later.
For example, in May 2003 in an adoption judgment the Tel Aviv Family Court gave an order declaring an eight year old girl “adoptable”. It left the question of whether the adoption would be ‘closed’ (without any contact with her biological parents) or ‘open’ (with some contact) until later. The idea was to give the girl time to undergo psychological counselling and settle in with the foster family that wished to adopt her. Once her progress had been reported, after a further period without contact with her biological mother, an assessment and decision could be made about what would be in the minor’s best interests, it was held.
Reports had shown that neither parent was able to raise the girl. The girl’s mother was mentally retarded, lived off state benefits , and had abandoned her previously after she was unable to look after her. Her father, who had six children from his first marriage, all in state care, and more from his next, was a drug addict who had been in prison for criminal offences. He had cut off all contact with his daughter.
Supreme Court Rejects Appeal Against 'Closed Adoption'
Question:
Can a court prevent an adopted child from seeing one or more of his/her biological parents even if the minor does not actively object to contact, but shows signs of difficulty ?
Answer:
Yes, certainly, if professional reports ordered by the court indicate that continuing contact between the minor and one or both of his/her biological parents is not in his/her best interests, and these findings are accepted . In a case finally decided by the Supreme Court in December 2006, where the biological mother was fighting a 'closed' adoption order, the reports showed that visits between a six year old girl and her biological mother was exacting too high a price and that the emotional damage done to her by allowing contact outweighed that which might be caused by severing contact altogether.
In this case, the child had been living with the adoptive parents since she was a baby. She had been born to parents who were drug addicts at the time. The biological mother was Christian and the adoptive parents religiously Observant Jews. They strongly objected to contact between their daughter and the biological mother ,which had been taking place for the last three years. The professional reports showed that the visits resulted in a conflict of loyalty , anxiety and insecurity in the child, and had not resulted in a significant relationship between her and the biological mother. The Supreme Court held that the disadvantages of contact clearly outweighed their gains and it was not in the minor's good for the 'closed' adoption order to be opened up. It rejected the mother's appeal against the judgment of the family court two years previously to declare the adoption 'closed', as the District Court had also done.
Adopted Child Under 18 Must Wait To Trace Biological Parents
Question:
A few years ago I discovered that I had been adopted when I was two. My relationship between my adoptive parents and I had always been difficult but after this it deteriorated so much that I moved to a boarding school. I am now 16 and want to trace my biological parents. Can I ?
Answer:
Only when you are 18. A child who was adopted as a baby or young child and has no recollection of who his biological parents were has to wait until he reaches the age of 18 to trace them. The 1981 Adoption Act regulates access to adoption records and limits this to a closed group of people. An adopted child does have the right to look up his adoption record but not while he is a minor (under the age of 18).
Right To See One’s Own Adoption Records – Over 18
Question:
A few years ago I discovered that I had been adopted – and my ‘mother’ and ‘father’ were not my biological parents. They had always kept my adoption a secret. I am now in my early 20’s . After much deliberation I approached the authorities in an attempt to trace my biological parents. I was shocked to find that a social worker had refused my request. Is this allowed, and if so, what can I do to gain access to my adoption records ?
Answer:
Yes, the social worker can object, but you can apply to court for permission to see your records.
The 1981 Adoption Act regulates access to adoption records which, obviously, are not ‘open’ to the public as other records are. Access is limited to certain people and when someone who is adopted reaches the age of 18, he/she has a right to discover the identity of his/her biological parents by looking in the adoption records. The official (social worker) can object, in which case the person wishing to discover his/her identity can apply to the family court for permission to see the records. Before the court makes a decision it will ask the official to present a report.
Biological Parents – No Right To See Adoption Records
Question:
Fifteen years ago I got my girlfriend pregnant. We were at high school at the time. Because of the traditional background we came both from my girlfriend did not have an abortion but the baby was put up for adoption. When we reached our early twenties my girlfriend and I got married. We have children but cannot get the image of our baby out of our minds. We want to try and find out who adopted him. Can we?
Answer:
The 1981 Adoption Act regulates access to adoption records and limits this to a closed group of people. Biological parents are not included in that list and accordingly cannot find out who adopted a child born to them. However, when the child reaches maturity, he/she can approach the authorities and ask to find out who his/her biological parents were.
Adoptive Parents Cannot Cancel Adoption Order
Question:
My husband and I adopted a child when he was 10. When he reached us he was in a very poor emotional state. He had a very difficult relationship with us, children in our neighbourhood, and staff and pupils at school. His achievements at school were very low ,his behaviour was bad and he was violent. We made a great effort to help me. We took him to a psychologist for therapy and arranged private tuition for him. However he continued to reject everyone and all efforts to help him. He became more and more alienated from us and ran away. He went to a boarding school, dropped out and then went to a foster family and so on. He is a teenager now, but still a minor. It is clear he does not want us at all as has cut off all contact. Can we cancel the adoption order as the whole adoption seems a failure ?
Answer:
No! In the 90’s the Supreme Court rejected a plea by adoptive parents to cancel an adoption order, holding that cancelling it would reinforce the terrible feeling of rejection from which the minor suffered from in his youth. It added that cancelling the adoption order could result in the cancellation of the child’s identity both in his own eyes and also in official records because he would appear as someone without any parents.
Adopted Child Cancels Adoption After Becoming An Adult
Question:
Can a child who has been adopted cancel his/her adoption when he /she is grown up
Answer:
Yes. The cancellation of an adoption order under the Adoption Act is possible when the adoptee is an adult. Jerusalem Family Court held in December 1999 that where an adult wishes to cancel an adoption order concerning him made when he was a child and his adoptive parents support the idea, then the court must respect their wishes and constitutional rights under the Human Dignity & Freedom Act and accept the plea. Where the reality is far removed from the legal position, as is the case when the relationship between the adoptee , as an adult, and his adoptive parents no longer exists,the adoption order should be cancelled, it said.
In the particular case, the petitioner , aged 26, had been adopted by an ultra-religious family when his own parents, who were Holocaust survivors, were unable to look after him. As a teenager he became more secular and clashed with his adoptive parents, tracing his biological family upon reaching maturity. He developed a relationship with them, particularly his siblings , and cut off all connection with his adoptive parents. His plea was accepted, after the court held that the adoptee had got stronger emotionally since the last application had been rejected following a social worker’s recommendation .
Adoption By Both Parties - Heterosexual & Married Couples Only
Question:
Can a man and woman who live together adopt a child together in Israel?
Answer:
No. The Adoption Law of 1981 only recognises couples as being eligible to adopt if they are heterosexual and married . An individual cohabiting with the biological parent of the minor child he/she wishes to adopt – but who is not officially married to him/her cannot do so. These points were emphasised in a case heard by Jerusalem family court in January 2000 when it rejected the application of a woman to adopt the biological child of the widowed man she cohabited with. Only if she married the man she lived with would she be eligible to adopt his child, it held.
Age Gap – Adoption
Question:
Are there are conditions about the age of someone wishing to adopt under Israeli law
Answer:
Where the adoption is of a child in Israel, and not a 'foreign adoption', the Adoption Act of 1981 States that the person wishing to adopt must be at least 18 years older than the child he/she wishes to adopt. Where the potential adoptive parent is the partner of the child's parent, or the child was adopted by the other partner beforehand, then there is no age restriction.
New Precedent – Lesbian Adoption of Partner's Child Possible
Question:
I have heard that previously a lesbian couple could only become guardians of each other's children, but could not adopt. I have heard that it is now possible for them to actually adopt one another's children. Is that true ?
Answer :
Yes, in January 2005 the Supreme Court set new precedent and interpreted the Adoption Law as not excluding Lesbians from being eligible to adopt on grounds of their sexual orientation. Thus, if in the particular circumstances of the case, the adoption is in the minor's interests, an adoption order will now not be refused because the potential adopter is Lesbian and in a single-sex relationship. The appeal judgment, came at the end of a long, legal battle .
The successful appeal was against a judgment by the District Court in 1999 refusing to accept the women's appeal against the family court's rejection of the adoption plea in 1997. In its judgment, the Supreme Court allowed the applicants, two lesbians, who had a stable single-sexed family relationship , with each acting as a 'second mother' to the other's child/ren , to adopt each other's offspring. The professional's report ordered by court had stated that each applicant was the next most important significant figure in the minor/s' lives after their biological mother, in the absence of a father-figure.
New Precedent – Can Homosexuals Now Adopt ?
Question:
Does the recent Supreme Court precedent allowing Lesbians to adopt their partner's offspring mean that homosexual couples may now be able to adopt ?
Answer :
In principle, the removal of the gender barrier discriminating against candidates for adoption because of their sexual orientation expressed by the Supreme Court in January 2005 in relation to two Lesbian mothers has paved the way for homosexuals, and will be tested when courts are called to rule on adoption cases involving homosexuals, both in terms of domestic adoption and the recognition of foreign adoption orders.
Adoption and Parental Ability – Objective & Relative to Child
Question:
When a parent fights an adoption order, what level of parenting ability must he or she prove ?
Answer:
To successfully fight an adoption order based on a lack of parental ability under the 1981 Adoption Act a parent must prove that he/she is capable of bringing up the specific child in question. The test is objective, based on findings of experts, and not based on subjective aspirations and declarations of the parent. It is based on the present and the future. A child cannot be declared adoptable if there is a chance that the parent's behaviour or situation will improve in the future, if given financial and other support .These points were reiterated by the Supreme Court in August 2005.
Adopted Child ‘Orphaned’ – Next Step Guardianship
Question:
Our son adopted a child who was accepted like our other grandchildren. Our son was killed recently in a car accident. The child wants to stay with us. Do we have to adopt him again ?
Answer:
No ! Adoptive grandparents can apply to court to become their adopted grandchild’s legal guardians if their son, who adopted the minor, dies. The appointment will be made according to the Legal Capacity and Guardianship Act of 1962.
Adopting A Child From Overseas
Question:
Does Israeli adoption law only deal with children who are in Israel ?
Answer:
No, it also deals with adopting a child from overseas, in that it restricts and regulates this in a procedure called ' Inter-Country Adoption' .The Adoption Act 0f 1981 was amended to deal with the problem of unregulated private adoption of children from overseas, some of whom were even 'stolen' or 'abducted' from their biological parents . Private adoption of children from overseas is prohibited, and a child living abroad can only be adopted via licensed agencies operating in Israel, and in specified countries overseas.
Is there any upper age limit for an Israeli wishing to adopt a child from overseas ?
Inter-Country Adoption - Age Limits
Question:
Answer:
Yes. The Adoption Act of 1981 lays down criteria regarding the difference in age between the prospective adopter and the prospective adoptee in inter-country adoption. The prospective adopter cannot be more than 48 years older than the child at the time the application is made. If a couple wish to adopt, the age difference of the younger one must be less.
Infertile Moslem Husband – Fertility Treatment & Adoption
Question:
My husband and I are Moslems. I have been unable to have children. After various tests the doctors told us that my husband is totally infertile and will never be able to give me a child. We want a baby but do not want to do anything that is forbidden under Islamic law. What can we do and how can we legalize it ?
Answer:
Where a husband is completely infertile and the condition is irreversible, Islamic Law prohibits options otherwise available to his wife. It forbids her from undergoing artificial insemination with the sperm of another man – the child would be illegitimate and the mother a whore. However, a legal solution is possible. The woman can undergo artificial insemination using the sperm of another man, but, assuming the couple co-operate, the husband must adopt the child the moment he is born. Furthermore, the mother must apply for the child’s rights to be protected in the civil system, if this is refused in the Moslem religious court.
Adopted Child’s Inheritance
Question:
Is an adopted child entitled to inherit from his/her adoptive parents just like their biological children?
Answer:
Yes, an adopted child has just the same rights as his/her adoptive parents’ natural child.
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