National and international adoption procedures

The Law Firm Cecatiello accompanies and assists its customers also in the procedures for national and international adoption.
Adoption is a legal institution that allows a person called adopter to officially treat another person called adopted as a child who then takes on the adopter's surname.

The first Italian civil code (1865) provided for the adoption of adults, especially for reasons of merit, while for minors it regulated the institution of protection, thanks to which charitable individuals could take care of abandoned and deserving children.

With a notable legislative change in 1967, the charitable aspect of guardianship was transferred directly to adoption, which became especially a tool to help the interests of the abandoned child, neglecting the question of merit for the benefit of a generic right a family deemed suitable and stable.
On 29 May 1993 the Convention for the protection of minors and cooperation in the field of international adoption was drafted, known as the Hague Convention, ratified by the Italian Parliament with the law of 31 December 1998, cn. 76. At the heart of the convention is the child and his or her fundamental rights, including that of having a family. The convention provides that the member states apply priority measures so that the minors, where possible, remain with the family of origin, otherwise they resort to adoption. International adoption is thus regulated at a supranational level, recognizing it as an "opportunity to give a permanent family to those minors for whom a suitable family cannot be found in their country of origin" and is made more transparent and controlled.
The law 4 May 1983, n. 184, art. 27 states that "adoption causes the adopted minor to assume the status of child born in the marriage of the adopters, whose surname also bears".
The same law provides for the possibility of adopting a minor on the national territory (national adoption) or in a foreign state (international adoption) adhering to the Hague Convention for the protection of minors and cooperation in the field of international adoption, or in a country with which Italy has established a bilateral agreement on adoption. Candidates can give availability for both national and international adoption for a specific foreign country. Generally, when a couple-minor combination occurs in one of the two distinct procedures (national and international), the other is suspended, but in some cases the competent Juvenile Court could also allow the couple to conclude the adoption with both the procedures, if two distinct combinations are proposed and accepted by the couple.
The basic requirements established by Italian law, in short, are the following:

Adoption is allowed to spouses who have been married for at least three years. Between the spouses there must not exist and must not have taken place in the last three years even de facto personal separation. The 3-year period can be reached by also taking into account a possible period of pre-marital cohabitation more uxorio.
The age difference between the adopters and the adopted must be between 18 and 45 years. Only one of the two spouses can have an age difference of more than 45 years, as long as his age does not exceed 55 years. Furthermore, the limit can be waived if the spouses are parents of adopted children, at least one of whom is a minor, or when the adoption concerns a brother or sister of the minor already adopted by them.
Adopters must be emotionally fit to educate, instruct and maintain the children they intend to adopt. This point is verified by the Court for the minors concerned through the social assistance services of local authorities.
Italian couples who decide to adopt must follow a particularly complex adoption procedure, which has been structured to guarantee the minor's interest in living in a family suited to his characteristics and needs.

The interest of the spouses, that of starting a family, is considered secondary to the interest of the minor.

The procedure for national adoption and that for international adoption differ essentially because the second predominant actor is the authority of the minor's foreign country, with respect to which the Authorized Bodies operate, which perform a double function: provider of services for the Italian couple who intends to adopt and at the same time guarantor of the application of the provisions of the foreign authority in Italy.
The law firm Cecatiello is able to provide assistance to couples who wish to adopt a minor thanks to the contribution of their counselors psychologists, social workers, child neuropsychiatrists and correspondents lawyers abroad.

Armando Cecatiello, Lawyer Milan and Rome.
Law Firm Cecatiello, specialized in family law, matrimonial lawyer, divorce lawyer, minor maintenance / custody.