If you’re like most people looking to adopt, you have a lot of love to give. Maybe you’ve always wanted children but were unable for health or medical reasons. Perhaps you and your spouse already have children but wish to add to your family. Whatever your reasons, adoption is one of the sweetest and most generous things a person can do for another human being. But if this is the case, then why is it so expensive? For many, the cost of adoption is simply prohibitive. But it doesn’t have to be. A Greenville adoption lawyer can help you navigate the complex legal world of adoption to help you efficiently obtain legal parenthood over an adoptive child.
Agency Services
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Between 2007 and 2008, there were 1,603 South Carolina adoptions, according to vital records . Many of these were handled by private adoption agencies. Agencies often charge steep fees in order to facilitate the adoption.
Typical Costs and Fees Associated with Adoption
Agencies often include some of the following fees with their services. Others do not.
- Locating eligible children for adoption
- Screening adoptive parents
- Background checks
- Initial vaccinations and health screenings
- Regulatory fees and state-mandated fees
- Court costs
- Attorney fees
Foster Parent Adoptions
When people agree to be foster parents, they agree to temporarily care for and house children who have been removed from their biological parents for a variety of reasons. Many times, these children have been left without a parent, due to a parent’s incarceration, drug or alcohol problems, or simply due to abandonment. Whatever the reasons, foster parents can become very emotionally attached to their foster children. In many cases, if a biological parent’s rights are terminated, a foster parent can petition the court for adoption. These arrangements tend to be less expensive than going through an agency, because the process of selecting and matching parents to children has been handled already through the foster process. Still, court filing fees and attorney fees can be a factor.
International Adoptions
Depending on your financial ability, sometimes an international adoption is preferable. It is a myth that these international adoptions always cost more or less. In truth, the costs are usually around the same. The biggest added expenses are the cost of VISAs, airfare, unique or varied medical evaluations to screen for problems that may not be an issue in the U.S., and government fees that some countries charge. Otherwise, the overall expenses are about the same.
How a Lawyer Can Help With Adoption
If you are planning to adopt a child, whether a current foster child or through an agency, you should consult a South Carolina adoption lawyer right away. There are a lot of simple pitfalls that can cost you thousands if you are unprepared for them. Avoid these obstacles by discussing your plans and your concerns with an attorney.
Lauren Taylor Law will work with you closely to make sure you understand the procedure and legal process for petitioning a court for legal paternity of a child in South Carolina. Whether you are looking stateside or abroad, having legal counsel from the start will minimize headaches and help you move through the process as efficiently as possible.
South Carolina divorce attorney Lauren Taylor practices family law in Charleston and Greenville. She graduated from the Charlotte School of Law, and has been practicing for more than ten years.
Since the firm’s inception in 2012, Mrs. Taylor has helped hundreds of people navigate the uncertainties surrounding the family and criminal court process.
She has cultivated a team that ensures each case has a strategy crafted specifically to the clients needs and desires.
Her commitment to top notch service has led her to open two additional offices in the low country where she now resides with her husband Michael and her golden retriever, Buster.