Adoption Q&A #14

MEDIATION AND ADOPTION

The American Academy of Adoption Attorneys (///A) has certified 17 lawyers nationwide to mediate contested adoption matters. Those matters may include litigation between a birth father who does not agree with a birth mother’s decision to place a child for adoption and the birth mother, disputes between the families of the birth father and the birth mother over which family is going to adopt, and wrongful adoption cases between adoptive parents and agencies or lawyers who have assisted with the adoption process. Placement issues are difficult to resolve, but early intervention and use of mediation may prevent prolonged, expensive and hostile litigation which serves to destroy family relationships and often results in outcomes contrary to the best interests of children. Even if the mediation effort does not result in a placement decision, it may pave the way for civil behavior between the litigants, which can only serve to benefit the child in the long run. Lawyers should consider mediation as a possibility before attitudes become so firmly fixed that compromise becomes impossible. More information about adoption mediation can be found at www.adoptionattorneys.org.