Adoption

Middle Tennessee Adoption Lawyers

If you have questions about adopting the child of a spouse or a child in foster care, or if you need advice about your ability to obtain visitation rights concerning the adopted child of a spouse whom you're divorcing, contact a family law attorney at Hollins, Wagster, Weatherly & Raybin, P.C. in Nashville. Our familiarity with Tennessee adoption laws and procedures can provide you with a clear understanding of the steps involved with stepparent adoption, foster care adoption, or agency adoption.

Our attorneys are most often requested to assist stepparents with the adoption of their spouse's children. We can explain the legal requirements relating to the termination of the other parent's rights with respect to the child. Additionally, our lawyers can help you prepare for the required home study and caseworker evaluation. While stepparent adoptions in Tennessee are usually the most streamlined and least complicated of adoption cases, complications can sometimes arise.

In some cases, an adoptive parent can encounter problems in obtaining the natural parent's waiver or consent to the adoption. In other cases, past difficulties with the criminal justice system can complicate a prospective parent's application. Our experience with stepparent adoption can help you overcome many of the hurdles or delays that can arise during the adoption process.

We also assist foster parents, single parents, and childless couples interested in other forms of adoption. Whether you are interested in adopting a child from a foster care placement, the child of a relative, or an infant or child from overseas, we can advise you and help you work through the procedures.

Highly complex child custody and residential plan problems can sometimes arise in divorce cases when one spouse but not the other is the adoptive parent of a child. For additional information about our ability to help you in your situation, contact a Nashville adoption attorney at Hollins, Wagster, Weatherly & Raybin.