[mamabean]

I was just looking into using a facilitator and was wondering if any one else has used on. I am going to look into the cost of an attrny, but was wondering what the attorney fees were for others.

[mommamarci]

Do you mean the cost to solely use an attorney for matching? I think you have to have an attorney for every adoption, even with an agency. (I could be wrong.) We used an agency both times, but needed an attorney to finalize everything. Our attorney fees were about $2000.

Also make sure to check state laws for using a facilitator. If your state does not allow it, you won't get ICPC clearance to come home. (A friend of mine was told this by an attorney in our state. Ours is one that does not approve the ICPC if you used a facilitator.)

[mdesi]

We are using attorneys for our adoption - no agency or facilitator. In our area, their fees should be b/t $4k and $7500, depending on the complexity of the case. (Usually, locating the e-dad for TPR brings that cost up.) You will need two attorneys - one for you and one for the placing parents. Each side needs to feel that they are represented w/o encumberances.

[devildogwife]

Whenever we adopt again, we'll just go with an attorney. Our attorney from our son's adoption was really great. She knew her stuff and dealt with ICWA really well.

I think we spent around 8k for all of the attorneys combined. We had one for us, my son's birth mom had one and my son had one (a GAL).

[Magic_Hat]

For our first adoption, we filed the finalization papers and went to court by ourselves. We purchased the instructions to do it all on our own from our agency (instructions were prepared by an attorney).

This time we are doing an independent adoption so we will use an attorney from the beginning. Our attorney charges a flat fee (around $3,600) for the finalization and an hourly fee for all the rest leading up to finalization.

[GuatMommy2Be]

How did you all find your attorney's? I've contacted a few (if we did an independent, no matching help needed) and they all suggested between 10k & 30k and couldn't give me a ball park figure. It makes me very hesitant.

[Magic_Hat]

Check out the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys (AAAA) website. They list the members by state so you can find one in your state or nearby. You really need an attorney that specializes in adoption and 30k sounds kinda crazy.