1. What is the cost to hire an attorney to help me through the adoption process?

2. What is a "home study" in an adoption case?

3. Will I be permitted to adopt since I have a criminal record?

4. I am married and live in Texas but my husband does not want to join me in the adoption of this child. As a married woman, can I single-handedly adopt a child?

5. I have a medical condition. Can I still adopt?

6. Does the biological parent have to have his/her parental rights terminated before I can file a petition to adopt the child?

7. I have located a child who is five months old. He is currently living with his birth-mother but she is willing to terminate her parental rights and allow me and my husband to adopt the boy. How long will the process of adoption take?

8. Can the birth mother revoke her consent before the adoption is finalized?

9. The child we wish to adopt is Hopi Indian. My husband and I are both Caucasians. Are there any additional legal issues associated with adopting an American-Indian child?

Q. What is the cost to hire an attorney to help me through the adoption process?

There are several factors that determine the total cost for an adoption including legal fees. The total cost may include the home study, court costs, medical bills, birth mother expenses, and travel expenses. Legal fees will also vary with each adoption and the legal issues involved in the process. Our office strives to maintain an affordable cost to adoptions without cutting corners. We pride ourselves in the ease with which a client can reach our attorney and make sure that all your questions are answered in a timely and correct fashion.
We encourage you to call our office for a free consultation and discuss the particulars of your case. Legal fee estimates generally do not include filing fees, court costs, a home study and travel expenses for the adoptive family.

Q. What is a "home study" in an adoption case?

A home study is a review of you, your spouse, and anyone living in your home. A home study reviews and discusses your familial and personal relationships, interactions with your other children, if any, your relationship with neighbors, and some home studies may even review your childhood. A home study is required in every adoption case. In Texas, courts will order a social home study and a state-employed social worker will be the one issuing the home study report. The home study report helps the court feel comfortable that you and your family have a stable family environment to receive an adopted child.

Q. Will I be permitted to adopt since I have a criminal record?

A criminal record may not automatically preclude you from being able to adopt in some states. Every state however has its own provisions regarding convictions of potential adoptive parents. In most cases, if a significant amount of time has passed since a DUI occurred, and the individual has followed all of the steps required by the court, this is not an issue. A DUI, or any other conviction, will need to be addressed during the Home Study process. Please explain to your Social Worker the circumstances of your conviction and the details of how the court handled it. The Social Worker will summarize the situation in your Home Study report. Your home study report will be a part of the court proceedings for your adoption. This is not something that birth parents would ever see or know about your family unless you choose to inform them.

Q. I am married and live in Texas but my husband does not want to join me in the adoption of this child. As a married woman, can I single-handedly adopt a child?

If your husband does not wish to join you in adopting a child and if you live in Texas, you will have to divorce before you can adopt that child… Texas adoption law provides that if a potential adoptive parent (a petitioner) is married, both spouses must join in the petition.

Q. I have a medical condition. Can I still adopt?

Courts, through the health, social, educational, and genetic history report, look at medical conditions on a case-by-case basis. You should not be discouraged from exploring adoption possibilities but first, contact your adoption attorney to present and discuss your medical condition and to inquire into whether he/she believes your medical condition may prohibit you from becoming an adoptive parent.

Q. Does the biological parent have to have his/her parental rights terminated before I can file a petition to adopt the child?

States differ in their requirements on filing for adoption. In Texas, the process of terminating parental rights can occur concurrently with the proceedings for adopting the child. This is referred to as a "joinder" of actions. However, if an affidavit of relinquishment of parental rights contains a consent for the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services or a licensed child-placing agency to place the child for adoption and appoints the department or the agency as managing conservator of the child, further consent by the parent is not required and the adoption will terminate all rights of the parent without further termination proceedings.

Q. I have located a child who is five months old. He is currently living with his birth-mother but she is willing to terminate her parental rights and allow me and my husband to adopt the boy. How long will the process of adoption take?

The birth-mother will have to let the child move with you for a while. It is not only good for the child to acclimate himself with you, your family, and the new surroundings but residency requirement is also a test you and your husband will have to pass in the process of finalizing your adoption.
Texas Family Code Section 162.009 controls the amount of time the child must be living with a prospective adoptive parent before a petition for adoption is granted. Even though Section 162.009 requires that a child resides with the prospective adopting parent for six months before an adoption can be granted, the same section, subsection (b) also states that on request of the petitioner prospective parent, the court may waive the six-month residency requirement if such waiver is in the best interest of the child.
Therefore, the best interest of the child will be the overriding principle in the courts' determination on how long should you have had the child before you can have the adoption finalized. Call your attorney to discuss the facts specific to your case.

Q. Can the birth mother revoke her consent before the adoption is finalized?

At any time before the order granting the adoption of the child is rendered, a birth mother can withdraw her consent if such consent was necessary in the first place. "It is settled law [. . .] that consent to adoption of a child, where required, can be withdrawn at any time before an adoption decree is entered. It follows that the acts of a parent in executing a consent to adoption and delivery of possession of a child pursuant thereto are done with the reserved legal right to withdraw consent at any time before entry of an adoption decree" Hendricks v Curry, 401 S.W.2d 796, 800 (Tex. 1966).

Q. The child we wish to adopt is Hopi Indian. My husband and I are both Caucasians. Are there any additional legal issues associated with adopting an American-Indian child?

The process of adopting a child who is of American-Indian descent is controlled by Indian Child Welfare Act (the "Act"). Within the context of adoption proceedings, or any child custody proceedings for that matter, the Act establishes minimum Federal standards for the removal of Indian children from their immediate or extended families and for the placement of such children in foster or adoptive homes which will reflect Indian culture. The Act also grants Indian tribes exclusive jurisdiction over any State in custody proceedings which involve an Indian child except where such jurisdiction is expressly vested in the State by existing Federal law. In fact, under the Act, an Indian custodian or an Indian tribe may intervene at any point in a State Court proceeding for the foster care placement of, or termination of parental rights to an Indian child. It is very important that you discuss this issue with an attorney very early in your adoption process so you may accomplish your goals in a most economical and least stressful ways.
In all adoption cases, please consult a Certified Public Accountant specializing in tax preparation for details and updates on the federal taxation law and how it applies to your efforts and expenses of going through an adoption. However, the following are some general guidelines on which you can begin your research and the IRS regulations are discussed in Publication 968 (http://www.irs.gov/publications/p968/ar01.html):

Federal tax credit benefits for adopting parents.

Federal tax law may permit a tax credit against the amount of taxes you would owe for certain expenses you may have incurred during the adoption process of a child. The tax credit does not apply to step-parent adoption. In effect, if the child you adopted is the biological child of your spouse, the tax credit will not apply to you. There is a catch however; under the current provisions of the law, your modified adjusted gross income (modified AGI) cannot exceed $152,390 for you to fully benefit from the adoption related tax credits. If your modified AGI exceeds $152,390, the total amount of tax credit you may qualify for may be reduced as your modified AGI approaches $192,390. Any earnings (modified AGI) above $192,390 will eliminate your credit or exclusion.

Tax credit qualification may differ with the type of adoption you pursue.

Adopting a U.S. child with special needs may afford you a flat $10,160 tax credit (an amount that you subtract from your tax liability), regardless of expenses incurred. This credit applies to adoptions finalized after December 31, 2002.
Adopting a U.S. child without special needs may make you eligible for a tax credit of up to $10,160 for itemized adoption expenses even if the adoption is never finalized. This part of the new law took effect on December 31, 2001.
Adopting or the adoption of children from other countries may make adoptive parents eligible for a tax credit of up to $10,160 for adoption expenses, but only if and when the adoption is finalized. This provision also takes effect after December 31, 2001.
Additionally, up to $10,160 paid or reimbursed by your employer for qualifying adoption expenses under an adoption assistance program may be excludable from your gross income.

The way the IRS defines a “special needs” child.

Beginning in 2003, the maximum credit and exclusion, subject to the income and tax liability limits discussed earlier, will be allowed for the adoption of a child with “special needs” even if you do not have any qualifying expenses. For 2003, the maximum amount for each is $10,160.
IRS considers a child an eligible “special needs child” if he or she is a citizen or resident of the United States (including U.S. possessions) and a state determines that the child cannot or should not be returned to his or her parents' home and probably will not be adopted unless adoption assistance is provided to the adoptive parents. Factors used by states to determine if a child has special needs could include (1) the child's ethnic background, (2) the child's age, (3) whether the child is a member of a minority or sibling group, or (4) whether the child has a medical condition or physical, mental, or emotional handicap.
If your state has determined that the child you are adopting is a child with special needs, you should keep evidence of that fact for your records.

Credit may be taken when the adoption process is finalized but not only.

For U.S. special needs adoptions, this credit may be claimed for adoption expenses incurred after December 31, 2002.
For U.S. non-special needs adoptions, the details are complicated but depend on the year the expense was incurred.
For international adoptions, your adoption must be finalized after December 31, 2001, in which case, you may be eligible to benefit from the tax credit in the year your finalize your adoption and bring your adopted child home.

Tax credit carry-forwards may be available.

Some adoptive parents have asked themselves how could they be benefiting from any federal tax credit when they tax liability for the year in issue is zero. If your tax liability to the federal government for the year in question is zero, the unused tax credit relating to your adoption expenses may be carried forward for five years or until it is all used, whichever comes first.