This is a difficult question to answer because every adoption is so different. There are certain expenses that are usually associated with private adoptions, but the amounts vary, these expenses include: our attorney fees, court costs, court filing fees, pre surrender or birth parent counselor expenses, your home study and post placement report fees and birth parent attorney expenses. Other adoption fees may include legally allowed birth mother living expenses, medical expenses, adoptive family travel and lodging, and third party consultation fees. The range is wide – anywhere from $10,000 to $60,000, legal complexity, whether the father cooperates, human complications [...]

It’s a written report drafted by a licensed professional (most often an LCSW). They will collect a lot of background information about the adoptive family through interviews, requests for criminal histories, abuse & neglect histories, and references. The professional will also include his or her own personal evaluation and instincts. The standard is whether this potential home will be a safe and healthy one for the child, not whether the family is perfect in every way. The report is not meant to arbitrarily disqualify people who want to adopt. They usually cost about $1,500.00. You will need to make an [...]

The amount of time you will to wait before being matched can vary and depends on lots of different circumstances. But once you are matched, and the child is born – you have to wait at least one year from the date the child is placed with you before we can file with the court asking to finalize the adoption. This is due to a legally required waiting period that is part of the vetting process to help ensure the placement is healthy. When a child is closely related to the adoptive parent (or an intrafamily adoption), the waiting period [...]

The birth mother gets 1st Dibs. As the then legal parent, she has the right to choose her child’s first and middle name. She may also defer to the adoptive parents and allow them to choose the child’s first and middle name or the parents can mutually agree on a name. The child’s last name is required to be mother’s maiden name, if she is not married, or the name of the father, if she is married or agrees to have the father claim his paternity and add his name to the birth certificate. The child’s legal name will be [...]