Making Permanent What Love Already Made Real.
Adoption cases carry more weight than almost anything else that comes through a family law practice. I handle them accordingly.
Adoption Services
Adoption is the legal completion of a family. When it’s done right, it creates permanence, stability, and clarity for a child who needs all three.
Step-Parent Adoption
When a stepparent has been functioning as a parent and both parties want to make that relationship legal and permanent. This typically involves the termination of the biological parent’s rights, by consent or, in cases of abandonment, by the court.
Termination of Parental Rights
In cases where parental rights must be terminated, to clear the way for adoption, or in response to abuse, abandonment, or other legal grounds. I handle the process with precision and the weight it deserves.
What the Adoption Process in Tennessee Actually Looks Like
Adoption is not a single filing. It is a sequence of legal steps that must happen in the right order.
Step-parent adoption with consent:
The biological parent whose rights are being terminated signs a formal voluntary relinquishment. Once signed, this is typically irrevocable. The adoption petition is filed with the court. Tennessee does not require a home study for most step-parent adoptions, unlike agency or independent adoptions. The court holds a final hearing and enters the adoption decree.
Timeline when there is a willing biological parent: typically 3 to 6 months from filing to finalization, depending on the court’s docket.
Step-parent adoption without consent (abandonment):
When the biological parent has had no meaningful contact with the child and has not paid support for the statutory period under Tennessee law, their parental rights can be terminated involuntarily as part of the adoption process. These cases require a clear evidentiary record documenting the abandonment, contact logs, financial records, court records showing prior orders.
Timeline in abandonment-based cases: longer, due to the additional legal steps involved in proving grounds.
What to gather before the consultation:
Birth certificates, your marriage certificate, any existing court orders affecting the child, and documentation of the biological parent’s involvement, or lack of it, over the relevant period. If you have it organized, bring it. If you’re not sure what you have, come as you are and we’ll work from there.
Why These Cases Matter
I became a foster parent because I believed in showing up for kids who needed someone to choose them. That conviction drives how I handle adoption cases. I don’t rush these. I don’t treat them like paperwork. I understand what’s at stake for the child, and I handle the legal process accordingly.
Explore Adoption Matters
PRICING: Step-parent adoption (uncontested) is offered at a flat fee starting at $2,500. Contested matters are handled on a retainer basis, starting at $5,000.
A couple of things on cost: court filing fees are separate from my fee, the court sets those and they vary by county, so I’ll give you a realistic picture for yours. And if paying up front is tough, we offer payment plans through Affirm (subject to credit approval). Either way, call the office or set up a consultation below and we’ll walk you through it.
Ready to Make It Official?
Let’s talk about your family and the path to making it permanent.