Adoption & Outreach

    Adoption Overview

    Adoption is the traditional way to add a child to your family. Our offices provide a full range of adoption services including birth parent outreach across the country and the state. We are an AV-rated law firm, the best rating possible. Our team includes a member of both the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys and California Academy of Adoption Attorneys, and Diane has served as President of both of these exclusive organizations.

    We have been doing adoption outreach for almost three decades, locating, screening and evaluating situations on behalf of our clients. Our comprehensive outreach program includes advertising necessary to locate an adoption situation — web based, hard copy, and our personal, exclusive networking avenues. Our legal services program covers all the legal work necessary in over 90% of the adoptions: screening of birth parents, navigating the choices to process the adoption based on cost, timing, and risk; arranging for smooth transfer of the child, termination of birth mother’s rights including competency statements if necessary, termination of birth fathers’ rights, petitioning the court and investigative agency for travel documents if necessary, trust account services to disburse birth mother funds, and if desired, post adoption contact agreements. While legal work for interstate adoptions necessitating the Interstate Compact and adoptions involving the Indian Child Welfare Act are additional, most of our adoptions do not involve these services.

    If you have been fortunate enough to find a birth mother on your own, who wishes to place her child with you, our offices would be happy to assist you with any and all legal services ranging from birth mother screening and assessment, birth father termination, consultation on the best way to process (agency or independent), interstate compact compliance, Indian Child Welfare Act compliance, post placement contact negotiations, and birth mother expense guidance and disbursement. Please contact our office for a complimentary 15 minute consultation.