Adoption in Tirneach

Adoption is a common practice in Tirneach, as there have always been many title or property holding individuals and couples who cannot produce heirs unaided.

How Adoption Works

To have an adoption formally recognised the adoptee (who could be a child or an adult) and the adopter (who must be an adult) are required to go before their Iarla and make solemn declarations. The adoptee must renounce any and all claims to the property and titles of their birth family and the adopter must accept the responsibility of a parent for the conduct of their new child. Following this there is no legal or social distinction between a child born into or adopted into a family.

Social Implications

Amongst those who place a high value on lineage, such as the Ruby Families of Siabhal, insinuating that there ought be a distinction made, or that adopted children are not truly of the family is socially disastrous. All of the Ruby Families have at one time or another relied on adoption to continue their legacies and an attack on the legitimacy of a single adopted heir is considered an attack on all.

Many families without inheritance to worry about practice informal adoption, as an audience with the Iarla may be more trouble than it is worth to them. It is considered an attack tantamount to the theft of the child to adopt someone who has been given as a hostage to your family. Finally, it is a contentious but not unheard of practice for the head of a household to adopt an heir more pleasing to them if they are completely unsatisfied with the ones nature has provided to them.