For families completing a stepparent or grandparent adoption in Charleston, Berkeley & Dorchester counties. Send a confidential message — we'll reply by email or phone, whichever you prefer.
Hall & Means handles stepparent adoption and grandparent adoption in Charleston, Berkeley, and Dorchester counties — the two adoption paths that grow naturally out of family law practice. We are not general adoption attorneys. We don't handle infant private adoption, international adoption, or foster-to-adopt placements — for those, you'll be better served by a firm that specializes in adoption law. If your situation is a stepparent or grandparent adoption, you'll work directly with your attorney, not a paralegal screening calls.
Why Hall & Means
Mary Ann Hall and Jessica Means lead Hall & Means together, representing clients through divorce, custody, alimony, and the family transitions that surround them — including the adoptions that finalize a family already in place. Both attorneys focus on family law in the 9th and 1st Judicial Circuit Family Courts, with deep local relationships across mediators, guardians ad litem, and DSS professionals throughout the tri-county region.
Meet your attorneys →Built around advocating for our clients in divorce, custody, and family transitions. The Family Law Hub reflects that focus — written for the questions our clients actually ask.
Three-county family law practice across the 9th and 1st Judicial Circuit Family Courts, with a local network of mediators, guardians ad litem, and DSS professionals.
You work with Mary Ann or Jessica. Your calls and emails are returned by your attorney — not screened by a paralegal, not routed to an associate.
What to expect
From the first call to a finalized adoption, the path is the same for every client. We tell you what's happening, what it costs, and what choices are yours to make — before we ask you to commit to anything.
Phase 1
You reach out by phone or message. One of our staff or firm team members responds — typical response time within 24 hours. Confidentiality starts with the first interaction. The first conversation is focused on understanding your family situation and whether a stepparent or grandparent adoption is the right legal path.
Response within 24 hoursPhase 2
We schedule a 2-hour consultation and review the consent and termination posture (where do the biological parents stand?), marriage timeline (for stepparent), and any prior custody history. An initial retainer is quoted at that consultation, based on the facts of your case — initial because the final cost depends on how the case unfolds.
Attorney-client privileged from word onePhase 3
If we're a fit, we put a representation agreement in place. We address the consent or termination of parental rights piece first (it's the gating issue in most adoptions), then file the adoption petition in family court. Home study coordination begins where required.
Filing on your timeline, not oursFinal Phase
We attend the final hearing with you — the moment when the judge signs the order and the adoption is legally complete. You retain authority over substantive decisions throughout. We handle procedural matters (scheduling, service, court filings) without asking permission for each step. Throughout, you work directly with Mary Ann or Jessica.
Direct attorney access throughoutStepparent and grandparent adoption in SC
Adoption law is a specialty. Hall & Means handles the two adoption types that arise directly from family law cases. Here's where we work, and where we'll refer you elsewhere.
The most common adoption we handle. In South Carolina, a stepparent who has been married to the child's biological parent for at least one year may petition to adopt the child. The non-custodial biological parent's rights must be terminated first — either by consent or on grounds (abandonment, failure to support, unfitness).
Once termination is in place, the adoption petition itself is straightforward. The final hearing is often a meaningful family moment.
Comes up when biological parents are deceased, have surrendered rights, or have been found unfit. Grandparent adoption is often paired with a prior custody petition or DSS involvement. The family court applies the best-interest standard.
These cases require careful sequencing — sometimes we advise pursuing custody first and adoption later, depending on where the biological parents stand and what the child's stability needs.
We are not general adoption attorneys. We refer out for: infant private adoption, agency adoption, international adoption, and foster-to-adopt placements through DSS. Those paths have specialty practitioners in Charleston and we'll point you to one.
If you're not sure which category your situation falls into, ask us in your first call. We'll tell you whether we're the right fit or refer you to someone better suited.
Get in touch
Submit the form and we'll reply within one business day — by email or phone, whichever you prefer. Everything you share is protected by attorney-client privilege from the first message.
Phone
Office
1816 Belgrade Avenue, Ste. 101
Charleston, SC 29407
Hours
Monday – Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
