Grandparents want to adopt

Dear Mrs Macaulay,

My husband and I live in the United Kingdom and have two grandchildren in Jamaica, ages 10 and five. Both boys live in terrible and squalid conditions. Their parents have asked us to take the boys to live with us. However, legally we are not able to do this, but would love some advice as to how we could become either their legal guardians or adopt the boys, or both. Is this something you could assist with please? Or if not, can you point us in the right direction in Jamaica? The situation is rather grim and we are not sure what the law/requirements are in Jamaica. I am 54 and my husband is 56. We live in a large six bedroom house in London and have ample financial resources to take care of both boys. Thank you.

I am very thankful for your letter which gives me the opportunity to assist you both and to inform other grandparents who may be in circumstances similar to yours what the laws are here and what they can do to take control and provide proper care for their grandchildren.

The first thing to bear in mind is that as you and your husband reside in the United Kingdom, the issue of you immediately applying for and obtaining an order granting you “care and control” (that is to say, the daily care and daily control) of your grandsons is presently completely out of the picture. However, the grant of an order for “custody” and your being appointed their “guardians” are obtainable.

You seem to have the grounds and circumstances necessary for such an order and an appointment readily available to you both. Firstly, you say that they live in terrible and squalid conditions, and secondly, that their parents have asked for your help to take the boys to live with you. To round things off, it is in the best interests of the children for you both to succeed with your applications and as a matter of urgency, because of their living conditions which are harmful to their welfare and development.

The parents would, based on their request, support yours and your husband’s application to be appointed the boys’ guardians and to have legal custody of them.

You should also add an application for an order that you provide for their maintenance in a caregiver’s (who would have the temporary ‘care and control’) home until they can reside with you both. It would not be in their best interests for them to continue to reside where and as they currently live and you both cannot be expected to provide for their support and have the monies spent not for and on them, but on others in the squalid home environment, as that would clearly be to their detriment.

When you obtain the orders for custody, maintenance and your appointment as guardians from the court, you would be able to have the boys spend time with you, so that you can later take steps to either apply for them to reside with you on the basis of your guardianship and order of you both as legal custodians, and/or you can proceed with an application to adopt them, even while your court application is ongoing. In this way, you can shorten the period the children would have to wait before they can legally live with you.

What then should you and your husband do? You should obtain the services of an attorney-at-law here versed in family law practice to act for you with your application to the Supreme Court and to assist with your adoption application. Your application must be made under and by virtue of the Children (Guardianship and Custody) Act for your custody and guardianship orders, as well as the temporary ‘care and control’ order in some safe and reliable caregiver.

The application for this latter order can be phrased in this way:- “That so and so shall have temporary care and control of so and so (elder grandson) and so and so(the younger), which shall cease upon the applicants’ obtaining and producing UK residential permits enabling the children to reside with them; at which time, care and control of the said children shall pass to the applicants (or words to this effect)”. In this way, you would not need to return to the court to turn over the order for ‘care and control’ to you both and so you will save the court’s time and yours, as well as save yourselves some money.

The claim for you both to provide for the boys’ maintenance through a caregiver would be made pursuant to the Maintenance Act, in your said application, on the basis that the children’s parents have failed or cannot provide a safe and healthy home environment and/or proper/sufficient nourishment due to their financial disability or physical or mental infirmity, or whatever, which truly fits their circumstances.

Please bear in mind that your application for the guardianship appointment and for the orders I have suggested must be supported by your sworn affidavits. The first will state the true facts on which you rely in support of each of your claims, and also to exhibit copies of the certified copies of the boys’ birth certificates and any other factual matter, for example photographs of their current living conditions. The other would illustrate why your application ought to be dealt with as an urgent matter by the court.

The parents’ affidavit supporting your application would state the reason they sought your help and asked that you and your husband take the boys to live with you, and why they cannot provide for and take proper care of them, and that they believe that their decision is in their children’s best interests to ensure for them bright futures.

Remember that when your application to the court is being filed, you can also have your adoption application filed at or around the same time. This will also save time and expenses by cutting down the trips you would have to make to Jamaica to attend court and the Adoption Board.

I hope I have assisted you both to have a clearer understanding of what you can do in order to provide for the care and protection of your grandsons.

Margarette May Macaulay is an attorney-at-law, Supreme Court mediator, notary public and women’s and children’s rights advocate. Send questions via e-mail to allwoman@jamaicaobserver.com; or write to All Woman, 40-42 1/2 Beechwood Avenue, Kingston 5.

DISCLAIMER:

The contents of this article are for informational purposes only and must not be relied upon as an alternative to legal advice from your own attorney.