Our Practice
We’re local, we care about our adoption community, and we’re committed to helping with all aspects of adoptions. As a part of Emmanuel Sheppard & Condon, one of the area’s largest law firms, we’re dedicated to connecting birth mothers with the right adoptive parents. We represent adoptive parents in all aspects of private adoptions, including newborn, stepparent, relative, second parent and adult. We offer advice and education, nurturing expectant mothers to ensure they know the resources available to them so they can make a fully informed decision in the best interest of their child.
Clay is an experienced attorney who has been practicing law since 2008. He is a lifelong Floridian and founded Gulf Coast Adoptions to spend more time with his wife, Cheryl, and to work and focus more on adoptions – something that is near and dear to both their hearts.
“Cheryl and I decided to create our own family in 2016 and were determined to do that through adoption. We were blessed to have an opportunity to adopt our daughter, Sloane, that year which has really inspired us both to “pay it forward” and help others with the adoption process, which has been one of the most rewarding aspects of our lives.”
Gulf Coast Adoptions handles all types of private adoptions, including the placement of newborns or infants with adoptive parents.
“We remain close to our daughter’s birth parents and know that the decision to place a child for adoption is never an easy one, it’s a selfless decision and one made out of love. We understand that, respect that, and it’s a driving force for us to ensure that the expectant parents and birth parents have the opportunity to hand-select a family they trust and believe will love, cherish, and support their child in the future, as they would themselves.”
Gulf Coast Adoptions also handles step-parent adoptions, relative adoptions, second parent adoptions, kinship adoptions, and adult adoptions.
“Families comes in all shapes and sizes, and our adoption practice recognizes that. Some of the best phone calls Cheryl and I receive are from parents who want to ‘make official’ their parental status, even though they have been raising a child as their own for a long time and their child knows no other parent other than them. There is something about making it official through the adoption process that really hammers home what family is, what love is.
We appreciate that so many families trust Gulf Coast Adoptions to handle their adoption and allow us to guide them through, and really share in, such an important event.
“Family is the single most important thing in life and we are so lucky to be in a position to help others grow their families.”
Please contact Clay and let us know how we can help you.
Clay H. Whittaker
Tel: 850-999-7977 | Fax: 850-999-7977
Clay@gulfcoastadoptions.com
Gulf Coast Adoptions
30 South Spring Street, Pensacola, FL 32502
Frequently Asked Questions