Will try to briefly summarise but wanted advice re applying a single person if a relationship doesn't meet the usual criteria.
My partner is really keen to adopt as she has no birth children. We have been together four years and known each other for 20 - very stable but we don't live together. I have children from a previous relationship and live with them (part time - I have 50/50 arrangement with my ex) in another city an hour away. I stay with my partner every other weekend for long weekends and she visits me occasionally too.
We accept that we might not be able to adopt as a couple as we don't live together, but as she doesn't have any legal rights over my children, we are happy for her to adopt as a single person with me being just part of the support act like her other close friends and family. I know its unusual, but I think its actually quite a nice balanced arrangement and it works really well for us at present as we do some family things together with my children, like holidays etc, but my children get plenty 121 time with me.
She was just told by an agency that she couldn't adopt at all if she is in a relationship with me. Seems such a small thing to turn her down for as she has so much going for her otherwise in her application as we are very happy to be flexible with arrangements/how we adapt moving forwards. Can anyone advise if its worth looking at other agencies/approaching it another way somehow. We're both pretty devastated.