Adopting a child is a wonderful way to start a family and provide a loving home for a child. Our firm specializes exclusively in the practice of adoption law; however, we primarily work with families who have already familiarized themselves with the adoption process and who are ready to immediately start a family.

Making the Decision to Adopt

For couples at the information stage, who are just looking to educate themselves about the process, we recommend the following resources:

• For self-help, we recommend the most current adoption resource books, which can be found at www.tapestrybooks.com.
• For professional assistance with the basics of adoption planning, many clients have used an adoption consultant such as:
  • www.AdoptionAdviceAndGuidance.com
  • www.PlanToAdopt.com
  • www.AdoptionConsultant.com

Beginning the Adoption Process

Once you are ready to adopt and have started the home-study process, you may contact us for our initial Adoptive Parent Information Form. In order to establish a relationship with our firm, we need you to complete this form and return it to us prior to our requirement of any funds. Upon receipt, my partner and I review each form to provide us with a clear understanding of your expectations as well as your comfort level with regard to the degree of openness for your adoption plan.

Our firm works with a limited number of adoptive parents and, as such, we are not able to assist every adoptive parent who requests our services. If we believe that we can help you, we will schedule our initial consultation. (For your convenience, it may occur in person or via telephone.) At that time, for unidentified adoptions (i.e., we assist in matching you with a birth mother), the fee for the initial consultation will be $500 and all forms of payment are accepted for this charge. Following the consultation, if we agree to work together, a nonrefundable advertising deposit of $1,000 will be required for you to be included on our list of waiting families. There are no additional amounts due until you are matched with a birth mother. Although it is not necessary for you to have a completed home study to consult with us, we recommend that you wait until you are definitely ready to become parents before you complete the Adoptive Parent Information Form.

Costs of Adoption

The total cost of an adoption plan can vary widely depending on the type of the adoption (identified or unidentified), birth mother expenses, and medical costs, if applicable.

The costs for unidentified adoptions fluctuate based on the financial needs of the particular birth mother and could range as high as $45,000. However, your amount “at risk” if for any reason the adoption plan is not completed rarely exceeds $15,000.

An identified adoption will usually cost substantially less than an unidentified adoption because you are locating your own birth mother.

Limited Waiting List

It is our goal that all families hoping to adopt be granted their wish, and because of this, we accept a maximum of 25 active adoptive families on our list of waiting families. This helps to ensure that your profile is shared with the greatest number of birth mothers.