pplication by childless relatives to whom a child has been ‘gifted’ by a family member in accordance with the family’s culture;  where the child is looked after by the local authority and the relatives are local authority foster carers for the child, a wish to end the legal involvement of the local authority and/or to create a stronger legal relationship between the carers and the child. 8.74. In some cases there may already be a residence or special guardianship order in place, in which case it will be necessary to discover why the proposed adopter believes that this is not sufficient, and whether, for example, the substitution of a special guardianship order for a residence order would meet the needs of the proposed adopter and child. If there is no order currently in force, consideration of alternatives such as residence or special guardianship orders will be necessary, and the local authority should ensure that the proposed adopter is provided with information about these options. 8.75. Adoption by close relatives of the child has the disadvantage of imposing a distorted set of relationships. Adoption by a grandparent, for example, means that the grandparents’ other children, including the child’s own parent, become, legally, the child’s siblings. Nevertheless, the possibility of adoption by a relative should not be automatically ruled out. There may be some circumstances where the security provided by the irrevocability of an adoption order, and its lifelong effect, would be best for the child. There is no statutory presumption that a special 148 guardianship order will be preferable to an adoption order in favour of a relative. It will be necessary to consider the particular facts of each individual case. See for example Re S (Adoption order or special guardiansh