Contested Adoptions Lawyer in Florida

Contested adoptions require experienced courtroom advocacy and careful legal strategy. Our attorneys bring decades of focused adoption litigation experience to protect parental rights and guide complex cases toward resolution.

Navigating High-Conflict Adoption Cases

Unfortunately, things can sometimes go terribly wrong when a birth mother changes her mind and challenges her adoption consent, or when the birth father decides to withhold his consent to an adoption.

Whether you are an adoptive parent caught in adoption gone amok by an unexpected objecting birth parent or a birth parent wanting to hold onto your parental rights and prevent an adoption from taking place, you need an experienced trial attorney who has litigated numerous cases and has a well-known command of the courtroom and evidentiary rules.

Tate Healey Webster have litigated numerous contested adoption matters, representing adoptive parents, biological parents, and adoption agencies, and have argued several cases before the Florida Supreme Court as well as the Florida district courts of appeal.

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Stages of a Contested Adoption Proceeding

Consent: The birth parent relinquishes the child to a child placing agency or a private attorney.
Petition: The lawyer for the agency or adoptive parents files a petition to terminate parental rights and/or a notice of intended adoption plan with the court.
Notice: The father receives the petition by personal service (and the mother, unless she waives notice as is customary). If the father cannot be located, then a diligent search must be performed to look for him. If he is a legal father and still cannot be found, he must be given notice by publication in a newspaper.
Answer: The father files an answer to the petition or notice wherein he objects to or asks the court to dismiss the petition to terminate parental rights.
Hearing: In court, the petitioner must prove that the father has waived or lost his parental rights. Discovery by way of depositions, interrogatories, and requests for production usually precedes any significant hearings.

Get Experienced Guidance for a Contested Adoption

For answers to your questions concerning contested adoption and your rights as a prospective adoptive parent or a birth parent, please contact Tate Healey Webster. The attorneys at Tate Healey Webster have focused their practice on adoption law for a combined total of over 120 years and have helped complete thousands of adoptions.

Click here to learn what considerations to take into account when selecting an adoption attorney. Click here if you have questions about what financial resources may be available to assist you on your adoption journey.

Contested Adoptions Related Pages

Intervention Mediation Interstate Adoption International Adoption Unsealing Adoption Records Recognition of Foreign Adoption Name Change Termination of Parental Rights

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Your Trusted Partner in the Adoption & Surrogacy Process

With years of experience and a commitment to personalized service, Tate Healey Webster Adoption Attorneys is proud to be a trusted partner in adoption throughout the state. We understand that every adoption is unique, which is why we offer tailored legal solutions and support. If you’re ready to begin your adoption journey, contact us today. Let us help you bring your family closer together through the miracle of adoption.