[tskinner0104]

I was wondering if anyone knows how to go about filing adoption papers without an attorney. My husband and I has lost a daughter by a drunk driver. We are 25 and 26 and I had to have a hysterectomy. We don't have thousands of dollars to adopt a baby. We have been blessed to be contacted by a mother who wants to do a closed private adoption, however, I was wondering if it would be safe to draw up our own papers and file them ourselves. Or do we need to hire an attorney? If anyone has ANY information for me - I would certainly appreiciate it!!

[tobeafamily]

You will need an attorney to file for both legal guardianship and adoption finalization. You will also need to complete a home study and post-placement supervision, both done by a licensed social worker.

This young lady and the baby's biological father should also see an attorney at least once so they can understand their rights and obligations. Termination of rights does not need to be witnessed by an attorney in Texas, only a notary public in the presence of two witnesses, however TPR papers should be drawn up by an attorney.

I'd contact at least three attorneys in your area with experience in domestic parental placement. You can check the member listing for the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys www.adoptionattorneys.com for names. Call at least three and compare services, fees, experience & your comfort level.

It's hard to say what your total costs will run b/c fees vary greatly from area to area in Texas. For instance, in Austin we were quoted anywhere from $5000- $6800 for legals, in Houston the average was $2500 - $3000.

HTH, best of luck,

Regina Amom to Ryan Joshua Thomas (who was born in Houston)

[tskinner0104]

Thanks for answering. I have been told we can go both ways so I was unsure. I will look into several attorneys. Thanks so much!

[Kara J]

Just a thought... if you personally know any attorneys or anyone who does, they may take your case on Pro Bono where you will pay for nothing but FBI Fingerprinting, filing fees, home study, and court costs. ( Our birthmother had already placed other children up for adoption and refused counseling and her own lawyer... she said she was fully aware of what she was doing!) I have also heard that in some counties judges will accept a home study completed by your pastor.... don't know, but if money is really tight it may be something you want to check into.

Also, just being nosy, but my husband and I are wanting to adopt again ( my son is now 2). Did you personally know the birth mother, or how did you find her? We want a private adoption again and don't want to go through and agency. Not really sure how to go about it.... our first birth mother was a friend, of a friend, of a friend so to speak! Thanks for any help you may be able to give, and BEST of LUCK!!!!! Adoption is a BEAUTIFUL thing!

[tskinner0104]

I had worked in a Doctor's office for about a year and while I was there the doctor I worked for said he would find me a baby. (He did family practice). A lady came in about 3 months ago and was looking for someone to give her baby up to and he suggested me. I hadn't worked there in over 6 months, but he did suggest me and the birth mother and I have been working together on this adoption for over a month and a half. The baby is due in September so we need to get moving fast. Thanks for all of your help!!!

[cbugDallas]

What a blessing! We had a similar situation last fall, a customer knew of a woman who was interested in placing her baby. In the end she chose to parent, but it got us moving in the right direction. We have several friends who are lawyers, one who has done a pro bono adoption, one who has adopted, and a couple who don't even remember studying family law. I hinted around to the friend with the pro bono experience and he told me that I would be better off in the end paying someone whose everyday job is adoption. This is far too serious a matter to be bargain hunting. Even the lawyer who had adopted paid an actual adoption lawyer to make sure everything was done correctly.

We live in Dallas and we got lots of input on who to call. A couple of names kept coming up. If you call around to various agencies you can ask them what lawyer they use to finalize. Most of the agengies around here use the same person.

One thing you can shop around for is home studies. We just used the social worker that works with the laywer and later found out that she is probably the most reasonably priced in town. Some people pay more than 3xs what we paid. And the poor thing has really earned her money. Since we didn't get the placement and a couple other situations have come up that I have questions about, I have called her several times and she's always answered my questions and been my biggest advocate.

Hope this helps,
Amber

[neema5]

Not sure what area you are in. We just finalized 12/2003 our family law attorney was wonderful. It cost about $1500.00 for the legal adoption (this was with VOLUNTARY parental rights relinquishments) and then $300.00 for a home study (Judge will require that).And add another $100.00 for background checks. If it is a cut and dry case and no one is contesting, then it shouldn't cost much more than this.

Our case took 4 years at a total cost of over 10k but it was extremley complex and difficult. You shouldn't have to pay that much if everyone is in agreement.

Hope this helps and God Bless.
Neema5
mom to 3 girls

[tskinner0104]

Wow, you guys have been so helpful. I have contacted a family lawyer and he said he can do it for me for roughly 1,000 plus the cost of a home study. The only problem I am worrying about now is the Home study.....what all does that include? Do they stop by your house for surprise visits and if your house isn't perfect, do they not consider you? What all does the Home study consist of. After your adoption is complete ..is the social worker still involved? If anyone has any information, I would appreciate it!!!

Thanks to everyone!!

[neema5]

Our home study was a breeze, I was nervous about it as well. Our attorney set us up with a social worker. We filled out a bunch of questionaire type paperwork. Then I spoke with the SW on the phone, he called several of our references (friends, family, pastor, co-workers) He asked them general questions about us. How we were w/ children. How our marriage was etc.

Then he came to the house at a scheduled time. He talked to dh and I. He asked questions like: How do the two of you handle a dispute? How do you discipline the children? How do you get along with extended family members (inlaws etc) . We took him thru the house and he looked it over (no white glove treatment here) He talked to all of the kids. (we were adopting the 3 year old, but have two of our own bio-daughters 10 + 14) He asked our older daughters how they felt about adopting a baby sister. In general he just tried to get a feel for how our family life was. It wasn't about how clean our house was. Although our house was tidy and clean (that day LOL)

We felt very fortunate that our attorney knew just the right person to get for our case he was great. Don't worry. Home study is just a way for the judge to gather unbiased info about potential a-parents. If you have a gernerally happy and stable home life there shouldn't be any problems.

Be Blessed,
Neema

[tskinner0104]

Wow, that was a great response! I was extremely worried aboaut the home study just because I was uncertain what they do. I do not always have a "tidy" house because we have a 4 year old, however, we keep it clean. That was biggest fear is that they'll come through with white gloves and check every nick and craney! I feel so much better now that you have given me some direction. Thanks so much!!!

[KGreenT]

Our homestudy was EASY! The only part that was a drag was gathering our documents... birth certificate, marriage certificate, etc. We found a private social worker do to our homestudy for $450. FIngerprinting and backround checks were under $50 total. Texas requires atleast one post placement visit and it was $100. (If you are in the Houston area, I can recommend someone... feel free to email me at kellygreent@aol.com) The only other expense I can think of is a physical exam which may be covered by your health insurance.

We live in the Houston area but we hired an attorney in Dallas to handle both of our adoptions because he was an expert and was affordable. His flat fee was $2500 plus expenses which were about $800. It was a pretty flexible payment plan. The first $600 was due once the BParents signed. The next payment was $200 and it was due about 4 months later. The final payment of $2500 was due at finalization (which is usually done 6 months after the child is in your home) and we had plenty of time to save for that. Also, our attorney accepted credit cards.

Just incase you didn't know, there is an adoption tax credit of $10,000. You will receive a credit of up to $10,000 of your adoption expenses. You can find out more about how it works on the IRS website or by talking to your CPA. Essentially, if your adoption is under $10k and your yearly income is less than $150k, you adoption could be free. We took out a low interest loan and repayed it with our adoption tax credit.

[lcravens]

KGreenT

I would be very APPRECIATIVE if you would email the information on your lawyer in Dallas. My email address is cravensl@micahels.com.

My husband and I are in the process of a Private Adoption and we have had no success at finding a lawyer with reasonable fees or a reasonable payment plan. The last lawyer we spoke with even told me that it was against the law in Texas to adopt a child without the use of an agency which was different from anything I had heard before. Our "son" is due between 10/28 - 11/03 so I really need to get things moving but this is an opportunity that has sort of fallen into our laps after 5 years of ttc and 3 miscarriages. We definitely believe it is a blessing from God but also don't have thousands of dollars to spend on legal fees - especially unecessary legal fees. I would really like to talk with you privately at your convenience since you have so much experience in this area already.

Thanks,

[lmsanchez]

hello everyone... i just wanted to add my info here also...

we adopted our son ethan a little over 2 weeks ago... we found him through a friend of a friend, etc. etc etc..

we found an attorney here in pasadena (right outside of houston) and she is going to charge us $1900 for her fees and the court fees.., plus $125 for the homestudy and then approximately $1000 for an ad-litem attorney...

we have already gotten birthparents to sign their affidavits relinquishing their parental rights (also over 2 weeks ago) and i have gotten those back to the attorney. we had to sign these papers in front of two witnesses and a notary and we had to do this somewhere other than the attorney's office.. (conflict of interest?).. we are now waiting for the attorney to file the motion to terminate parental rights and then start the homestudy.. ethan will have to live with us for 6 months before it can be finalized.

just thought this may help someone..

[knightgirl825]

Can you please give me the name of the lawyer and phone number who was able to do this adoption for you at such flexible terms. My email is knightgirl825@comcast.net or my cell 214-384-9623. Thank you so much, Lucy Hernandez

[knightgirl825]

Can you please give me the name of the lawyer and phone number who was able to do this adoption for you for a 1000.00. My email is knightgirl825@comcast.net or my cell 214-384-9623. Thank you so much, Lucy Hernandez

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