Sarah Brown and Nigel Priestley from Ridley & Hall went to a packed Adoption UK AGM and Conference in Birmingham representing Adoption Legal Centre.

The theme of the day was “Attachment and Trauma in the classroom”. Over 400 parents, teachers and social workers attended.

The fact that it was an heavily over subscribed showed that many were looking for guidance and good practice.

The Adoption Legal Centre stand was busy throughout the day dealing with practical issues that many adopters face.

Many parents enquired about making wills. One young couple who had just adopted realised that they both had death in service benefits representing four times their salaries. Add in a house worth £300k protected by an insurance policy and they found they had assets worth over £500k! They wanted to make sure that they had trusts in place for their child.

“It’s amazing how many people said to us that they knew the importance of making a will – but they kept putting it off” said Sarah Brown. “Our presence at the event made them take action! It was so busy that Nigel‘s wife Sue had to be drafted in to talk to parents and take details from them!”

Parents wanted to know how to press their own local authority to provide support and there was real concern about the failure of Councils to either match fund payments from the Adoption Support Fund – or even simply address the need for respite.

“Yet again the day was a clear reminder that adopters need specialist legal advice,” commented Sarah. “They were pleased that the Adoption Legal Centre really understood the pressures that many families face and the need for practical support.”