Adoption, Surrogacy and Guardianship

Baby learning to walk while holding hands of parents

Adoption

Attorney Ashley Richter understands that adoptions can be challenging transitions for families.  Ashley knows the adoption process, and because she regularly serves as a guardian ad litem, she understands children's issues.  She helps families successfully navigate both routine and more complex adoption cases to make the process as smooth as possible. 

Attorney Richter can help you pursue the following types of domestic adoptions and work through the various issues that accompany them:

  • Step-Parent Adoption

  • Foster parent adoption

  • Same-sex couple adoption

  • Domestic partnership adoption

  • Guardianships

  • Termination of parental rights 

Expecting mother holding her belly

Surrogacy & Assisted Reproductive Technology Family Formation

Surrogacy and family formation through assisted reproductive technology are viable alternatives to adoption that require experienced legal counsel.  Attorney Ashley Richter works with intended parents, surrogates, and donors, and can assist you with the following:

  • Surrogacy contracts

  • Embryo donation agreements

  • Egg donation agreements

  • Sperm donation agreements

  • Parentage proceedings

  • Termination of parental rights proceedings

Creating your family so that you have the appropriate legal protections in place requires careful planning and experienced counsel.  We are happy to help you make informed decisions regarding your options.

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Guardianship for Children

A guardianship establishes a legal relationship for care of a child and an adult without terminating the legal relationship between the child and his or her legal parents. With a guardianship, the adult guardian can be designated primarily responsible for providing a home for the child and making many important decisions for their care.  A guardianship can allow the guardian to enroll a child in school, make medical decisions, manage financial support and often, provide health insurance coverage through the guardian’s health insurance plan. A guardianship does not, however, take away a legal parent’s ability to also do those things for their child.

A guardianship can give parents support when they need help in caring for their child. The parent might be unavailable due to illness, travel, incarceration, or circumstances beyond his or her control. A guardianship is a way for other trusted adults to help the child as well as the parent.