Adoption application — final adoption order — step-parent adoption — family unit — parenting order — additional guardianship order — Adoption Act 1955, s 11 — Care of Children Act 2004, s 23. The biological mother and step-father of the child applied for a final adoption order in favour of the step-father. The mother had been solely responsible for the child's care since birth. The child's biological father had signed the necessary consent for the adoption by the step-father, and provided an additional affidavit in support of the proceedings before the Court. He was not named on the child's birth certificate and was not a guardian, and so the consent required by s 7 of the Adoption Act was found to have been satisfied. The mother and step-father had been in a relationship since before the child was born, and sought an adoption order to recognise that the child was part of the family unit along with his younger half-sibling. Pursuant to s 11 of the Act, the applicants were required to be "fit and proper" people, which the Court found them to be. The Court discussed the provision of a parenting order and additional guardianship order as an alternative legal approach available to the parents. However, the Court noted that this would only last for childhood, and not for a lifetime, which was important for the security of the child's relationship with his step-father and sibling. The Court was satisfied that the adoption was in the child's welfare and best interests. As the family satisfied the special circumstances required, the Court made the adoption order final in the first instance and changed the child's surname to the new family name. Judgment Date: 22 February 2023. * * * Note: names have been changed to comply with legal requirements. * * *