08 ADOPTION
Background
o Adoption is a concept of caring for someone’s child as if the child is your own.
o Customary adoption or defacto adoption is an adoption done according to the customary
rites.
o In Peninsular Malaysia, there are 2 statutes that touched on adoption:
(i) Registration of Adoptions Act 1952
(ii)Adoptions Act 1952
Registration of Adoption Act 1952
o S1(2): applicable to the Peninsular Malaysia only
o Requirements for registration:
The child (S6)
Child-must be under the age of 18, never married
Defacto adoption – must be in the care of the adopted parents for 2
continuous years immediately before the application and the child
must be maintained by the parents as their own child
The registrar has to ensure that the applicant or spouse and the child
appear before him or her and produce such evidence wither oral or
documentary to satisfy the registrar that a de facto adoption has
actually taken palce.
, The parents or one of the parents, or the guardian of the child has to
appear and give his or her consent to the adoption.
The applicant (S10)
if joint applicants, one of the spouse must be at least 25 years old and
at least 18 years older than the child to be adopted
if he is a relative to the child, he must be 21 years old
if he is the parent of the child, no age requirements.
Bothe the applicant and the child is ordinarily resident in Peninsular
Malaysia.
If the child has already been adopted and an adoption order has been
made in accordance with the Adoption Act 1952, the registrar cannot
register an adoption again under this Act.
o The effect of the adoption
S11 - The registration will not confer any rights to the child in relation to
inheritance.
If the adoption is valid per se, the omission to register it does not make it invalid.
Likewise, if the adoption is invalid, its registration does not make it valid.
Re Loh Toh Met, Dec'd., Kong Lai Fong v. Loh Peng Heng
The deceased had adopted a number of children, but all of the adoptions were in
acordance with Chinese custom. Only one of the adoption was registered under
the then Registration of Adoptions Ordinance 1952. Despite the registration, the
child did not possess any rights of inheritance as registration did not accord such
Background
o Adoption is a concept of caring for someone’s child as if the child is your own.
o Customary adoption or defacto adoption is an adoption done according to the customary
rites.
o In Peninsular Malaysia, there are 2 statutes that touched on adoption:
(i) Registration of Adoptions Act 1952
(ii)Adoptions Act 1952
Registration of Adoption Act 1952
o S1(2): applicable to the Peninsular Malaysia only
o Requirements for registration:
The child (S6)
Child-must be under the age of 18, never married
Defacto adoption – must be in the care of the adopted parents for 2
continuous years immediately before the application and the child
must be maintained by the parents as their own child
The registrar has to ensure that the applicant or spouse and the child
appear before him or her and produce such evidence wither oral or
documentary to satisfy the registrar that a de facto adoption has
actually taken palce.
, The parents or one of the parents, or the guardian of the child has to
appear and give his or her consent to the adoption.
The applicant (S10)
if joint applicants, one of the spouse must be at least 25 years old and
at least 18 years older than the child to be adopted
if he is a relative to the child, he must be 21 years old
if he is the parent of the child, no age requirements.
Bothe the applicant and the child is ordinarily resident in Peninsular
Malaysia.
If the child has already been adopted and an adoption order has been
made in accordance with the Adoption Act 1952, the registrar cannot
register an adoption again under this Act.
o The effect of the adoption
S11 - The registration will not confer any rights to the child in relation to
inheritance.
If the adoption is valid per se, the omission to register it does not make it invalid.
Likewise, if the adoption is invalid, its registration does not make it valid.
Re Loh Toh Met, Dec'd., Kong Lai Fong v. Loh Peng Heng
The deceased had adopted a number of children, but all of the adoptions were in
acordance with Chinese custom. Only one of the adoption was registered under
the then Registration of Adoptions Ordinance 1952. Despite the registration, the
child did not possess any rights of inheritance as registration did not accord such
