Adoption & family law
Every child deserves a family that holds.
Prescott’s Family Law guides adoptive parents, expectant and birth parents, and kinship caregivers through the legal work of building a permanent family — and stands beside families through the harder chapters too.
Confidential · No obligation · Evening and weekend appointments available on request
Dedicated adoption and family law advocacy serving families across Southern California since 2000.
What we do
A practice built around permanency — with the rest of family law behind it.
Most of our work is adoption. The remainder is the family law that sits around it: custody, guardianship, parentage and the orders that keep children safe and settled while the adults sort things out.
Primary practice
Adoption & permanency
From the first conversation to the day the judge signs the final decree, we handle the consents, the petitions, the home study coordination, the notices, the hearings and the post-decree paperwork — so you can concentrate on the child.
- Private and agency domestic infant adoption
- Stepparent and second-parent adoption
- Relative and kinship adoption
- Adoption from foster care and state custody
- Adult adoption
- Intercountry adoption, readoption and recognition of foreign decrees
- Contested adoption and termination of parental rights
Also handled here
Family law
Adoption rarely arrives alone. We take the related matters that decide where a child lives, who speaks for them, and what happens next.
- Divorce, separation and property division
- Custody, parenting plans and relocation
- Child support and spousal support
- Guardianship and conservatorship
- Parentage, surrogacy and assisted reproduction
- Protective orders and emergency relief
- Modifications and enforcement
Paths to adoption
Six routes to the same courtroom door.
Each path has its own consents, waiting periods and paperwork. Start anywhere — we will tell you honestly which one actually fits your situation.
Private & agency adoption
Working with an expectant parent directly, or alongside a licensed agency, to place a newborn or infant.
Learn moreStepparent adoption
The most common adoption we file. A stepparent becomes a legal parent, usually with the other parent’s consent.
Learn moreRelative & kinship adoption
Grandparents, aunts, uncles and siblings formalising the care they are already giving.
Learn moreFoster care adoption
Adopting a child in state custody, including subsidy and post-adoption support questions.
Learn moreIntercountry & readoption
Recognising a foreign decree, readoption in California, and securing a state birth certificate.
Learn moreContested matters & TPR
Disputed consent, unknown or absent fathers, and termination of parental rights proceedings.
Learn moreHow it goes
The adoption process, without the fog.
Four broad stages, and you always know which one you are in. Full detail is on the process page, including realistic timelines for California.
Consultation & eligibility
We map your situation against California law, confirm which adoption type applies, and give you a written scope, fee estimate and expected timeline.
Home study & documentation
Background checks, references, medical letters, financial statements and the home study itself. We keep the checklist and chase what is missing.
Consents, notice and petition
Valid consent or termination of parental rights, notice to anyone entitled to it, and the petition filed in the correct county court.
Hearing, decree & after
The finalisation hearing, the decree, the amended birth certificate, and the post-adoption items families forget about — benefits, records, name changes.
Who we act for
Four groups sit across our table.
Adoption has more than one side. We are clear about whom we represent in any given matter, and we never act for parties whose interests conflict.
Adoptive & prospective parents
Married couples, single applicants, stepparents, second parents and families adding to a home that is already full.
Expectant & birth parents
Independent counsel so a placement decision is genuinely informed and genuinely voluntary. See what that means.
Kinship & foster caregivers
Grandparents, aunts, uncles and long-term foster carers seeking guardianship or adoption of a child already living with them.
Agencies & professionals
Licensed agencies, social workers, home study providers and out-of-state counsel who need local filing and appearance in California.
“Prescott's Family Law guided our family through our adoption with unwavering steady hands, clear answers, and total compassion at every turn.”
How it starts
Free to ask. Free to apply. Free to be told no.
There is no charge to talk to us, no charge to apply, and no charge for the review that follows. The first fee is $500, it is disclosed in writing before you pay it, and it is credited back in full if you go ahead.
Apply and be reviewed
An attorney reads your application and tells you in writing whether we can act, and which adoption route fits. No cost.
See the fee in writing
Amount, recipient, what it buys, refundability, and what it does not guarantee — before you are asked for anything.
$500, credited back
Buys a written eligibility assessment and a document roadmap. Credited in full against your flat fee if you engage us.
Engagement agreement
Signed by both sides. This is the moment you become a client and the file becomes privileged.
Common questions
Start with the three we are asked most.
It depends entirely on the type. A straightforward stepparent adoption with a cooperative other parent often finalises in 4 to 9 months. A private infant adoption is driven by matching and by California consent and revocation periods. Foster care adoption follows the child’s permanency plan and the termination of parental rights. At your consultation we give you a realistic range for your facts, not a brochure number.
We quote most adoptions as a flat fee so you know the number before you commit. Court filing fees, publication, background checks, home study fees and any agency fees are separate and paid to those providers. Contested matters are billed hourly. Full detail is on the fees page.
No. Their interests can diverge, and independent advice is what makes a consent meaningful. If we act for one side, we will help the other side find their own counsel — and in most placements the adoptive family pays for that representation where California law permits it.
Next step
Talk it through with someone who does this every day.
Consultations are confidential and there is no obligation to hire us. Bring your questions, your paperwork and your timeline — we will tell you plainly what the process looks like, what it is likely to cost and how long it should take.