Know your options
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Adoptions where the child is carried by one of the partners.
IMPORTANT UPDATE! IMPORTANT UPDATE!
- PLEASE NOTE: This is only for if legally maried when the child is born!
Good news: Since our earlier comment on this question, there has been some interesting developments. It seems that all is clear and no adoption will be necessary when you are legally married for the non-biological partner! This is ground-breaking news. Baby-ventures knows of two couples that had no problem at Home Affairs to BOTH be registered with equal parental rights
PREVIOUS SCENARIO FOR SAME-SEX COUPLES
Co-joined adoption:
Typically used in artificial insemination and other ART procedures.
In simple terms: (ONLY APPLICABLE IF NOT MARRIED LEGALLY)
The party not carrying the child during pregnancy is seen as the non-biological mother. The partner of the mother will have to adopt the child. Because a foetus cannot be adopted, the partner will adopt the child after birth. The child will be co-jointly adopted through the Children’s Court by the couple.
Adoption of child not biological connected to either of the parties.
Open adoption:
The adoptive parents and birthmother have certain information about each other. Most commonly the birthmother will select the adoptive parents and meet with them on a continuous basis during the pregnancy and/or after the birth. The involvement of the birthmother will be determined by the agreement between the two parties.
In general this adoption option is not for everybody but a selected few that is comfortable with the idea of having the birthmother involved in your adopted child’s life.
Close adoption or undisclosed adoption:
A limited amount of information will be available to the birthmother on the adoptive parents. This is normally limited in a profile. The birthmother will rely a lot on the guidance of the social worker on the case to find the most suitable “match” for the unborn child.
International adoption or inter-county adoption:
This is a very popular way of adoption for child-seeking couples from international countries into South Africa.
More Information:
Intercountry Adoption from SA: The Real Picture for the gay community
Cost:
There is normally a large difference in cost working privately and through the government departments.
A private social worker can cost you up to R3 000 (going rate R350 per hour) depending on the social worker and the process involved. But working through a private social worker is far less time-consuming and guaranteed individual attention.
