Looking to Adopt Shale

"Right, then that's good," Theo said, noting that down quickly on a sheet of blank paper and placing it in Ms. Forestier's file. If they didn't have any valid forms of ID the process would be much more difficult. He was surprised that the firm still used paper, but Arthur was most likely trained in the old ways, where legislation wasn't available at the wave of a hand and organising large files were finicky.

"Normally, the birth parents would have to submit an appeal to the judge to relinquish their rights of guardianship, and the adoptive parent would also be reviewed to see if they are suitable for guardianship," Theo said, setting down his pen. "But since there aren't birth parents available in this case, their consent is automatically assumed."

"Well, if his name was different when registered, he would probably still have to come in for a legal surname change, and get it changed on documents. But yes, if you were his guardian he should be able to adopt your surname without much trouble," Theo said. He might have to consult with Arthur what the exact rules were here, but back in the UK they were like this.

"Do you have any other questions?" he added. Without the authorities getting back at Ms. Forestier, there were little things that Theo could do to help the procedure.

"That's alright. You'll still have to go through the legal procedures to give him a new surname, of course, but that should be fine," Theo said, knowing full well that many people here either belonged to species that didn't have surnames or simply didn't know who their parentage were.

"Right. A will and a trust fund. For a trust fund you'll have to speak to a bank, but we can help you with the will," Theo continued, "Since the will is likely going to be uncomplicated as the adoption process will go through and he will be your legal heir, you can most likely draft it yourself, or list out the assets you want him to inherit. Once you're done, take it back to us and we will make it airtight for you."

"Well, the court would first have to issue a decree of name change. You can do it before or after adoption, but it should be more straightforward afterwards. Then you have to get all the documents in order with the immigration office,' Theo said. He had not done a name change before, but he was reasonably certain that it wouldn't be too complicated.

"That could get complicated, thank you for letting me know," Theo responded. "Ms. Forestier, what is your relationship with the Del Bosque line?"

"Well, maybe it's not called the immigration office here. It should be the place where you previously applied for your identity documents," Theo said, frowning. He really wasn't well versed with the legal system here, relying mostly on his undergrad law degree for this segment. Arthur wouldn't be happy, if he heard this. Showing incompetence to a client.

"Illegitimate daughter?" Theo frowned. This was getting a bit beyond his scope. "Was he registered as your father? Did he leave you anything in your inheritance? The problem with this is that even if you are recognised as his daughter, it's unlikely that the child in question would be recognised as next of kin, due to the familial gap... I'll have to consult with my senior for this."