How Much Does It Cost to Adopt a Baby?
Whether you are thinking about adopting a baby in Florida or you are ready to take the next step, you are probably asking yourself: How much does it cost to adopt a baby?
If you have located a pregnant mother or plan on finding a pregnant mother on your own, Bryan’s legal fees vary based on your situation and the amount of legal work required. Please click the following to learn more about Bryan’s fees to legally complete your adoption.
If, however, you are like many adoptive families and require help finding an adoption opportunity, Bryan McLachlan works closely with American Adoptions, a national adoption agency, and together they can provide all of the adoption services you will need to safely complete your adoption goals.
The average total cost of an infant domestic adoption with American Adoptions is $40,000 for their Traditional Program and $31,000 for their Agency-Assisted Program. Bryan’s fees are included in these figures. Please remember these figures are simply averages and also vary greatly based on the situation.
Some of the benefits that American Adoptions provides include:
- Fixed Agency Fees – No matter how long your adoption takes, American Adoption’s agency fees stay the same.
- Marketing and Advertising – American Adoptions limits adoptive families’ wait times by aggressively advertising to women across the country who are considering adoption.
- Risk Protection – In the event of a disrupted adoption, American Adoptions’ Risk-Sharing Program ensures that your money is returned to you so that you can continue to pursue your adoption dream.
Individual Adoption Costs
You likely are aware that adoptive families cover the adoption’s legal bills and medical expenses, but there are many other important services required to complete an adoption. Some of the services included in the total cost of an agency adoption, including with American Adoptions, include:
Counseling and Support
Most adoption agencies provide counseling and support to both adoptive families and birth parents throughout the adoption process. American Adoptions even offers birth mothers 24/7 support if they need someone to talk to late at night or on the weekend.
Advertising and Matching
One of the primary reasons families work with adoption agencies is because of their ease of finding adoption opportunities with prospective birth mothers. Some agencies are better at this than others, so it’s important for the adoptive family to find one that can help them grow their families as soon as possible. Matching services also include adoptive family profile development and distribution to women considering adoption.
Home Study
Every adoptive family must complete a home study to prove to birth parents, the child-placing agency and the court that they are ready and safe to adopt. A social worker will conduct a background check, a home inspection, and interviews with the members of your household to determine a family’s readiness to adopt.
Birth Mother Living Expenses
To help a birth mother focus primarily on having a healthy pregnancy, adoptive families may cover a birth mother’s living expenses, including:
- Rent and utilities
- Transportation
- Groceries
- Maternity clothes
- Cell phone bill
- And more
More information on allowable expenses can be found at the Child Welfare Information Gateway, or you can contact Bryan McLachlan for questions about Florida statutes.
Travel
Families should expect to travel to the birth mother’s location at least twice: once before she gives birth and again to take the baby home. The costs for travel will depend on how far away you live, how long you stay, and whether or not you make additional trips. Some of the costs you will need to consider include:
- Plane tickets or gas
- Accommodations
- Travel necessities and arrangements for the baby (car seat, extra plane ticket if you don’t want to hold the baby for the entire flight)
- Childcare items for the trip (diapers, baby carrier, clothes, formula, etc.)
Please call (727) 398-0086 or contact Bryan McLachlan for a more detailed breakdown of the costs of an adoption in Florida.