Maria Teresa Bates

Maria Bates helped my husband and me work with a surrogate to have our twin boys. She was terrific. She’s capable, caring, responsible, and responsive. As a law professor at Stetson University College of Law, I first met Maria when she was a student. Even then, she was enthusiastic about family f...ormation and her ability to help people achieve their goals. I’ve watched her grow as a professional ever since and finally became a client myself. I couldn’t be more proud of the professional Maria has become and recommend her highly. - Professor Joe Morrissey

Maria helped me with an adult adoption and not only knew how to quickly navigate the legal side but was able to provide myself and my daughter personal advice from her own experiences as an adoptive parent. I've continued to reach out to Maria for legal advice in complicated cases and she is a fierce... advocate and always knows exactly how to navigate the challenge. Maria has provided pro-bono services for our community and is a quick strategic thinker that can figure out how to move barriers to make things happen. I can't say enough good things about her services.

I am honored to write a recommendation for Maria Bates. I used Maria’s services when I adopted my son. She walked alongside me during one of the most exciting, stressful and ultimately life changing times. She took the time to get to know me and shared some of her own journey which helped me feel sup...ported. Maria is truly passionate about family formation. She understood and anticipated my questions and concerns before I even asked them. Maria and her team were advocates for both me and the birth parents. Their support helped us create a close and trusting relationship. So much so that the birth mother asked me if I would be with her in the delivery room when my son was born – which remains the most amazing and moving experience of my life. Maria’s support for us didn’t end when the adoption was finalized. While our adoption was eight years ago, Maria has reached out periodically just to check in. Because of her ongoing professionalism and support, I would not hesitate to contact Maria for any type of legal service in the future.

Maria has been an intricate part in our surrogacy journeys. She has been so knowledgeable about what needs to be done and when and made everything from the legal side extremely smooth. We have so much to deal with, it was nice to have the trust in someone to get the job done without having to follow ...up. We have worked with her on both sides in the process. Our first experience with Maria was her representing the surrogate which she was extremely professional and great to work with. On our second pregnancy, we asked our agency to use her as we actually felt very comfortable with the way she explains things and her empathy with what we were going through. We will be starting the process again for our fourth child soon, and we have already requested to use Maria from our agency. I cannot say enough good things about working with her and helping guide us through this complex legal process.

Maria represented my husband and me in a challenging personal case. She went above and beyond to advocate for us almost as if our case was personal to her. We feel fortunate to have had her at our side. Her efforts paid off in a successful legal outcome against difficult odds. We highly recommend her....