Publication on Missing Respondent Birth Parents Just Got Harder and More Expensive

by Dawn Coppock | Jan 4, 2026 | Adoption, Attorneys & Courts, Legislation

Have a look at 2025 TN Public Chapter 500.   Basically, it requires that when we give notice by publication in a newspaper, we must also publish in a paid local online platform, where one exists. But the TN Press Association already has a free...

Process Update: Report of Foreign Birth, what is it and what has changed?

by Dawn Coppock | Nov 25, 2025 | Adoption, Attorneys & Courts, Legislation

A child adopted abroad by Tennessee parents may obtain a report of foreign birth from the Tennessee Department of Vital Records. That is not new. Note, immigration is top of mind just now, that a Tennessee adoption of a child born abroad requires proof of the child’s...

Adoption Law School Now ON-DEMAND

by Dawn Coppock | Aug 29, 2025 | Adoption, Attorneys & Courts, General, Legislation, Seminars

Registration will open by the end of September for Good Law’s flagship seminar, Adoption Law School*, but this time as an on-demand course. You asked for it, and finally, Dawn’s done it. 15 hours of CLE, including 3 hours of ethics credit, will be open for...

Class Action Filed Against DCS

by Dawn Coppock | Aug 3, 2025 | Adoption, Attorneys & Courts, Foster Parents, Legislation, News Events

On May 19, 2025, a class action on behalf of 13 Tennessee foster children was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee against the commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services, alleging significant systemic failures,...

Update your termination of parental rights pleadings with the new notice to incarcerated respondent birth parents effective July 1, 2024.

by Dawn Coppock | Nov 18, 2024 | Adoption, Legislation

Effective for Petitions filed on or after July 1, 2024, the new notice is: T.C.A. § 36-1-113 (f) (1) A parent or guardian who is incarcerated at the time the parent is served with a petition to terminate parental rights shall receive notice that: (A) A...

Finalization – Six Months or Three Months?

by Dawn Coppock | Mar 26, 2024 | Adoption, Attorneys & Courts, Foster Parents, General, Legislation

Question: I understand that the waiting period for adoption, the time the child must live with the prospective adoptive family before the adoption can be finalized, has been reduced from 6 months to 3 months, correct? Answer: Not exactly. The waiting period is still 6...