Adoption provides the legal foundation that protects your family. Whether you are welcoming a newborn, formalizing a stepparent relationship, adopting through foster care, or caring for a relative, each path involves important legal steps.
At Foster + Bloom, family-building is at the heart of everything we do. As adoption attorneys in Southlake, we walk alongside families across Tarrant County and North Texas, offering steady guidance, thoughtful support, and a deep commitment to protecting the relationships that matter most.
We proudly assist families through a wide range of adoption matters, including:
- Foster Care Adoption: Transitioning a child from foster care to a permanent, legally recognized family.
- Stepparent Adoption: Establishing a permanent parent-child relationship for stepparents already raising and caring for a child.
- Relative and Kinship Adoption: Helping grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other relatives create lasting legal stability for children in their care.
- Domestic Infant Adoption: Guiding families through agency-assisted and independent infant adoptions, from placement through finalization.
- Second-Parent Adoption: Helping LGBTQ+ parents and unmarried couples establish permanent legal recognition of their parental rights.
- Adult Adoption: Formalizing longstanding family relationships and supporting inheritance and family recognition goals.
- International Adoption Finalization: Assisting families with re-adoption and other Texas legal requirements following an international adoption.
Why I Practice in Family Law: "There is nothing more rewarding than helping people build the families they have always dreamed of. By focusing the vast majority of my practice on adoption, alongside select work in assisted reproduction, I have the unique privilege of guiding parents through complex legal journeys. Ultimately, my goal is to help children find loving, permanent homes and provide the secure legal foundation that allows families to thrive." Why I Practice in Family Law: "Every child deserves a safe and loving home. It is an absolute privilege to help clients navigate the extreme highs and lows of their unique family building journeys."Meet Your Texas Attorneys

Eric Freeby,
Member
Alyssa Jacobs,
Member
Foster Care Adoption Attorneys in Southlake
For some families, the path to adoption starts with opening their home to a child in foster care and wanting to make that relationship permanent. Our foster care adoption attorneys in Southlake guide families through the legal steps required to transform a temporary placement into a lasting, legally recognized parent-child bond.
Foster care adoptions in Texas often involve:
- Termination of Parental Rights: Before an adoption can be finalized, the child’s biological parents’ rights must be legally terminated through a court proceeding.
- Working with DFPS and Child-Placing Agencies: We coordinate with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS), caseworkers, and placement agencies throughout the adoption process.
- Meeting Texas Adoption Requirements: Once the required placement period has been satisfied, we prepare the adoption petition, gather the necessary documentation, and help ensure all legal requirements have been met.
- Adoption Finalization: We represent your family at the final adoption hearing in Tarrant County, where the court signs the adoption decree and officially recognizes your permanent parent-child relationship.
Our goal is to make the legal process as clear and manageable as possible, allowing you to focus on your growing family.
Domestic Infant Adoption Legal Services in Southlake
Bringing a newborn into your family through adoption involves both careful planning and thoughtful legal preparation. Our domestic infant adoption attorneys in Southlake work closely with families to navigate each step, helping ensure the process is handled properly while supporting a smooth transition into parenthood.
Domestic infant adoptions in Texas often involve:
- Birth Parent Consents: Texas law establishes specific requirements for the voluntary relinquishment of parental rights, including when birth parents may sign consent documents. We help ensure these requirements are met to support a legally valid adoption.
- Working with Adoption Agencies: Whether you are partnering with a licensed child-placing agency or pursuing an independent adoption, we coordinate with everyone involved to help keep the process moving forward.
- Interstate Placements (ICPC): If a child is born outside of Texas, the adoption must comply with the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC) before the child can travel home.
- Court Requirements: We prepare the necessary legal filings, coordinate required documentation, and guide families through the adoption finalization process in Texas.
Relative Adoption and Kinship Adoption in Texas
When grandparents, aunts, uncles, adult siblings, or other relatives step in to care for a child, adoption can provide the legal permanence to match the role they already play. We work with families to formalize these relationships in a way that reflects the care and commitment already present in the home while establishing clear, lasting legal rights.
Relative and kinship adoptions often involve:
- Termination of Parental Rights: Before an adoption can be finalized, the biological parents’ rights generally must be terminated through voluntary relinquishment or a court proceeding.
- Long-Term Legal Stability: Adoption establishes a permanent parent-child relationship, giving caregivers the legal authority to make medical, educational, and other day-to-day decisions on the child’s behalf.
- Protecting Established Family Relationships: Many children have already been living with relatives for months or even years before adoption is considered. Formalizing that relationship provides lasting legal security for both the child and the family.
We understand that kinship adoptions often involve sensitive family circumstances. Our team provides compassionate guidance through every step, helping families establish a secure legal foundation that reflects the relationships they have already built.
Stepparent Adoption Attorneys in Southlake
Many stepparents have already become a child’s everyday parent long before they consider adoption. They provide love, stability, guidance, and support through the moments that shape a child’s life. Stepparent adoption creates the legal recognition to match that relationship, strengthening the bond you have already built together.
In Texas, a stepparent adoption generally requires the termination of the other biological parent’s rights. This may occur through voluntary consent, or, when legal grounds exist, through a court proceeding. Our attorneys help families understand their options and guide them through each step with clarity and compassion.
From preparing the adoption petition to coordinating required evaluations and representing your family at the final hearing, we manage the legal process so you can focus on what matters most. A completed stepparent adoption establishes a permanent parent-child relationship, providing lasting legal security for both you and your child.
Second-Parent Adoption for LGBTQ+ and Unmarried Partners
Every family deserves the security that comes with clearly established parental rights. For LGBTQ+ couples and unmarried parents who have welcomed a child through assisted reproductive technology, donor conception, or surrogacy, a second-parent adoption can provide an additional layer of legal protection.
While a birth certificate identifies a child’s parents, it may not provide the same legal recognition as a court order in every situation. A second-parent adoption or parentage order helps establish a permanent legal parent-child relationship that offers greater certainty if your family travels or relocates.
We help you obtain a final court order that safeguards your family’s legal integrity, giving you peace of mind that your parental role is secure under any circumstance.
Adult Adoption Attorneys in Southlake
Adult adoption allows families to formally recognize a parent-child relationship that has existed for many years. Whether the bond grew through a stepparent relationship, foster care, or another family connection, adoption provides lasting legal recognition under Texas law. Adult adoption is often pursued to:
- Honor a Lifelong Relationship: Create a permanent legal parent-child relationship that reflects the family bond you already share.
- Support Estate and Inheritance Planning: Help ensure legal documents and inheritance rights align with your family’s wishes.
- Strengthen Legal Recognition: Clarify next-of-kin status and reinforce the legal relationship for medical, personal, and family matters.
While adult adoption is generally more straightforward than adopting a minor, it still requires careful preparation and court approval. Our team guides families through each step, helping ensure the legal process reflects the relationship you have built over the years.
International Adoption Attorneys in Southlake
Completing an international adoption often extends beyond bringing your child home. Our international adoption attorneys in Southlake help families complete the remaining legal steps in Texas, creating clear legal recognition and a secure foundation for the future. International adoptions may involve:
- Re-Adoption in Texas: Depending on your child’s visa classification, a Texas court proceeding may be required to finalize or re-adopt the child after arriving in the United States.
- Recognition of Foreign Adoption Decrees: We help families register or confirm foreign adoption orders when appropriate so the adoption is fully recognized under Texas law.
- Citizenship and Documentation: We guide families through the legal steps that may be necessary to obtain or update documents such as a Texas birth certificate, Social Security record, or U.S. passport.
- State Court Proceedings: Our team prepares the required petitions, reviews international adoption documents, and represents your family throughout the final court process.
Why Families in Southlake Choose Foster + Bloom
Choosing an adoption attorney means choosing a legal partner who will guide your family through every stage of the adoption process with experience, compassion, and care. Families choose Foster + Bloom because we offer:
- Experienced Adoption Guidance: We bring deep knowledge of Texas adoption law and help families navigate each stage of the process with confidence.
- Clear Communication: Adoption can involve complex legal requirements, but we explain each step in straightforward, easy-to-understand terms so you always know what to expect.
- Personalized Support: Every adoption story is different. We take the time to understand your family’s goals and develop a legal strategy that reflects your unique circumstances.
- Compassionate Advocacy: We are committed to helping families create lasting legal security while providing the guidance, responsiveness, and support they deserve throughout the adoption process.
Talk to a Local Texas Adoption Attorney
The strongest families are built through love, commitment, and the decision to show up for one another every day. Adoption provides the legal foundation that protects those relationships and gives families the security to move forward together.
At Foster + Bloom, we are honored to walk alongside families through every stage of the adoption process, providing experienced guidance, compassionate support, and lasting legal protection for the people who matter most.
