# The Adoption (Northern Ireland) Order 1987, Article 41: Adoptive relatives

Extent: N.I.

(1) A relationship existing by virtue of Article 40 may be referred to as an adoptive relationship, and
(a) a male adopter may be referred to as the adoptive father;
(b) a female adopter may be referred to as the adoptive mother;
(c) any other relative of any degree under an adoptive relationship may be referred to as an adoptive relative of that degree,
but this Article does not prevent the term “parent”, or any other term not qualified by the word “adoptive”, being treated as including an adoptive relative.
(2) A reference (however expressed) to the adoptive mother and father of a child adopted by—
(a) a couple of the same sex, or
(b) a partner of the child’s parent, where the couple are of the same sex,
is to be read as a reference to the child’s adoptive parents.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisi/1987/2203/article/41 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/adoption-northern-ireland-order-1987/article-41
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.