We were approached by Mr and Mrs Green who are the maternal aunt and uncle of the child, Adrian. Adrians’s parents have a longstanding history of neglectful parenting and have had their previous children removed from them and have either been made subject to freeing for adoption orders or placement orders.
The Local Authority approached Mr and Mrs Green to ask whether they would want to be considered as special guardians for the child, Adrian. We were able to help Mr and Mrs Green through a funding arrangement with the Local Authority, under which they agreed to underwrite our legal fees. Formal notice was served and an assessment was undertaken of Mr and Mrs Green which was ultimately successful.
An application had to be made to the Court for a Special Guardianship Order and enquiries had to be made in respect of the whereabouts of the parents of the child. The parents had also named the child a name which the special guardians did not agree with and we were able to obtain an Order allowing the special guardians to change the child’s name also.
Mr and Mrs Green were so impressed with the service that when the parents had a further child twelve months later and Mr and Mrs Green were approached to see whether they would be interested in caring for that child, they once again instructed us and we were able to assist them with that child, Brendan, who now lives happily with his full sibling, Adrian, in the care of Mr and Mrs Green