Hi, I'm from Hampshire in the UK. I went to court in March 2013 to try and adopt my niece, the judge sadly refused this and put her up for adoption, she still remains in care and will do till at least march 2014 as they are struggling to find her a family, I was just wondering if I could re-apply to adopt her if she has not been adopted within a year of the court, many thanks

Yes you can re-apply, but has your situation changed for the better?

Are you attempting to do this without council? If you are then you may be taking the wrong steps to get things done. Just stepping forward doesn't always make it go smoothly. You need representation to get the job done.

Before we can answer this, we need to know why the judge refused your petition. Clearly the child needs to be adopted and courts generally prefer to place a child with family. So without knowing the reason, its impossible to answer.