Adotados

Adotados is the plural form of adotado, a person who has been legally adopted. The term is used in Portuguese-speaking contexts to refer to individuals who, through a court-ordered process, have established a legally recognized parental relationship with adoptive parents.

The adoption process typically involves filing a petition, evaluating the potential adoptive parents, obtaining consent from biological parents when applicable, and a judicial decision that concludes with an official adoption order. In many jurisdictions, adoption results in the termination of the biological parents’ parental rights and the creation of new parental responsibilities for the adoptive parents. The adopted person gains legal status as a child of the adoptive family, with corresponding rights to support, inheritance, and identity, while the exact effects can vary by law.

Many civil-law countries distinguish between different forms of adoption, such as plena (full) adoption and simples (simple) adoption. Full adoption generally ends the legal ties to the birth family and establishes the adoptee as a full heir of the adoptive family; simple adoption may preserve some ties to the birth family and can limit certain inheritance rules. The specific consequences depend on national legislation.

Adoptions can be domestic or international. International adoptions are subject to cross-border rules and, in many cases, to international agreements like the Hague Convention, which aim to protect the child’s welfare and ensure proper recognition of the adoption abroad.

Adotados may range from children adopted in infancy to older children, and, in some jurisdictions, adults. Open adoption arrangements, where ongoing contact between birth and adoptive families is possible, also exist in various forms.