[Melander]

Hello,
We are almost at the time where we can finalize our adoption here in the US. We were told to get an attorney to help us out by our adoption agency. Unfortunately, the lawyers here cost an arm and a leg and they do not have much experience with international adoption.

The agency that is handling our post placement home studies said that most of their clients do it themselves.

My question is, did you do the finalization by yourself or did you hire an attorney? Was it difficult to do if you did it yourself?

I really appreciate the help!

melander

[teachamy]

We were also told to get a lawyer, but when we went to the courthouse and saw the paperwork, I wondered why we would need one. To be honest, the adoption paperwork for our agency is more complicated than our state's finalization paperwork. We went through the papers, then called the woman in charge of the filing process with our questions. She was extremely helpful, and she didn't charge a fee! We finalized without a lawyer, very easily in fact. (It took us a year to get around to starting the process of finalization, but it was really easy. I don't know why we dragged our feet!)

My advice is to pick up the paperwork yourself and ask if there is someone you could contact with questions. If you find you can fill it out on your own, it would save you a lot of money!
Good luck! Let us know what you find out.
Amy

[Melander]

Thanks for the advice. That's what I thought. I called lawyers around here and the cheapest is $3500!!! Our hs agency has a $25 packet that walks you through the finalization process. I ordered it and we'll take a look at it. I can part with the $25 and the filing fee for the courts. I don't have $3500 laying around for a lawyer.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks!
Michelle

[jchrapcyn]

Our agency did the whole thing- there was only one form we had to sign.

[cthy757]

WOW!!!!! Your finalization fees are ridiculous with your lawyer. We paid about $550 for our lawyer fee, court costs, and expedited birth certificates.

Cathy

[sak9645]

A lot depends on your state's adoption process. Some states make things easy; others can be a real bear.

Your homestudy agency probably knows the situation in your state better than your placement agency does. If the homestudy agency is familiar with finalizations for Korean children, and feels that you can do yours "pro se" (for yourself, without an attorney), by all means go ahead and do it.

However, do be sure that you fully understand the whole process. As an example, you'll want to make sure that the adoption decree includes a name change order. And you'll want to make sure that you understand how to get a certificate of foreign birth for your child from your state's Vital Records department once you finalize.

And if other adoptive families tell you that your state process really is a bear, listen to them, regardless of what your agency says. Sometimes the expense of a lawyer is worthwhile. I readopted my daughter from China in DC. DC's Superior Court is a zoo at the best of times, and I was so glad that I was using one of the best adoption attorneys in the area, especially when the court lost part of the paperwork that my attorney submitted and the judge sent out a nastygram blaming us for sending incomplete material.

You probably can find a good adoption attorney, if you wind up needing one, by going to the website of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys. It has a state-by-state list of members. You are bound to find at least one in your area who is familiar with international adoption. And many members of "Quad A", as the Academy is called, handle so many cases that they have the process down to a science and can charge a fairly modest fee.

Sharon