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Special Guardianship and Adoption Handbook is a comprehensive, accessible guide to special guardianship and adoption law for all children and family law practitioners. It provides essential advice at all stages of representing clients: at the office, drafting, negotiating and conducting court hearings.

This new book provides:

• a comprehensive overview of special guardianship and adoption orders, and how they fit together;
• practical, step-by-step guidance on drafting and procedure;
• updates on key developments and changes to the processes, procedure, and outcomes in the law;
• workflow diagrams and flowcharts explaining special guardianship and adoption law procedure;
• details of important regulations and the most recent and significant court decisions.

This book is essential reading for anyone who needs to understand the complexities of these two orders and how they tie in within private and public law proceedings.

Contents

1. Historical perspective and need for change; 2. Special Guardianship Orders – The Essential Facts; 3. Special guardianship orders and Section 8 Children Act 1989 orders; 4. Special guardianship and assessment processes; 5. Special guardianship orders – financial and other support services; 6. Special guardianship – families moving local authorities; 7. Special guardianship and the court timetable; 8. Special guardianship – practical steps in case management; 9. Developments surrounding special guardianship orders; 10. Legal representation and funding for special guardianship; 11. Special guardianship orders – variation, discharge and co-existing with care orders; 12. Adoption – historical perspective, freeing and placement orders; 13. Adoption orders – The essential facts; 14. Routes to adoption orders; 15. Adoption and special guardianship – inheritance implications; 16. Adoption – financial and other support services; 17. Adoption Agencies Regulations – panels and processes; 18. Adoption and the court timetable; 19. Contested adoption applications – post-adoption contact, and long-term foster care; 20. Adoption and special guardianship orders. Appendices. 

About the Author

Safda Mahmood is an experienced practitioner with over 28 years’ experience in children and family related law. As a lecturer, he runs training courses in England and Wales to members of the legal profession and other professionals. As an author, he has written widely on family and children law related matters and he is the author of the Law Society publication, Children Law Handbook (2021).