Simple adoption and plenary adoption: what differences?

Verified 05 August 2024 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

The 2 forms of adoption differ on a number of subjects: ties with the family of origin, parental authority, name of the adopted person, inheritance...

Tableau - Comparison of the effects of simple adoption and plenary adoption

Subject

Simple adoption

Plenary adoption

Link to the original family

The adopted maintains all links with his family of origin.

The plenary adoption gives the adopted a parentage which replaces its original parentage: the adopted person ceases to belong to his family of origin.

Parental authority

The exercise of parental authority is exclusively and completely assigned to the adoptive parent, except in the case of adoption of a child of the spouse, Civil partnership partner or cohabiting partner.

In the latter case, the adoptive parent may exercise parental authority only if he or she carries out a joint statement before the registrar of the court of justice.

Parental authority shall be exclusively and wholly assigned to the adoptive parent.

In the case of the adoption of the child of the Civil partnership, partner or common-law partner, parental authority shall be jointly exercised by the two members of the couple.

Maintenance obligation

The adopter shall food to the adopted and vice versa.

The biological parents of the adoptee are only obliged to provide him with food if he cannot obtain it from the adoptive parent.

The adopted person shall continue to be required to maintain his or her biological parents unless he or she has been admitted as ward of government or covered by social assistance.

The adoptive parent owes the adoptive parent food and vice versa.

There is no longer any maintenance obligation between the adopted person and his biological family except in the case of adoption of the child of the spouse, Civil partnership partner or cohabiting partner.

In the latter case, the adoptive parent must always have support for the parent of his biological family with whom the relationship of parentage has been maintained and vice versa.

Name of the adopted person

The name of the adopter shall be added to the adopted person's name or replace it.

Under certain conditions, the original name may be retained.

The adopted takes the name of the adopter

First name of the adopted person

During the adoption procedure, it is possible to ask the judge for a change of the adopted person's first name.

During the adoption procedure, it is possible to ask the judge for a change of the adopted person's first name.

Nationality

Simple adoption doesn't automatically to the adopted child of to become French.

A minor adopted person may take French nationality with a declaration of nationality.

The adopted adult must apply for naturalization to become French.

The adopted child during his minority becomes automatically french if one of the parents (adoptive parents) is a French national. He is considered French from birth.

Right to succession

The adopted inherits the 2 families : of his family of origin and his adoptive family.

The adopted person does not benefit from the transfer duty free in his adoptive family. It pays the same fees as unrelated persons (60%) except in certain cases (e.g. child of the spouse).

He is heir in title in his biological family and in respect of the adopter but is not the heir reserving ascendants of the adopting party.

The adopted child inherits from his adoptive parents (unless the adoptive parent dies in the course of the adoption procedure). He is a heir and has the same tax advantages as a biological child.

He does not inherit from his family of origin except in the context of an adoption of the child of the Civil partnership, partner or cohabiting partner. .

Revocation

Simple adoption can be revoked by judgment for serious grounds.

The plenary adoption is irrevocable.

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