New Jersey & Pennsylvania Adoption Expenses and Home Studies
Adoption Expense Management | Protect Your Rights PA NJ
When you are involved in efforts to adopt a child, the emotions you face on a daily basis can make it difficult to take the right steps to properly manage your expenses and to avoid being taken advantage of by unlicensed facilitators or scammers. Cofsky & Zeidman, LLC can help.
At Cofsky & Zeidman, LLC, we have provided comprehensive adoption counsel to families in New Jersey and Pennsylvania for decades, handling more than 1,500 adoptions. Our lead attorney, Donald C. Cofsky, is fellow and Past President of the Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys and has been honored as an Angel in Adoption by the Congressional Coalition for Adoption in Washington, D.C. Attorney Cofsky has an AV-rating from his colleagues in the legal profession under Martindale-Hubbell’s Peer Review Rating System. He has also been recognized as a New Jersey Super Lawyer, as well as an Awesome Attorney by South Jersey Magazine and a Top Attorney by SJ Magazine.
We provide a private consultation to every new client. For a meeting, email our office or call us at (856) 429-5005 in Haddonfield, NJ at (856) 845-2555 in Woodbury or in Philadelphia, PA at (215) 563-2150.
The Expenses You Can Expect Related to Your Adoption
In the state of New Jersey, whether you adopt through an agency or through a private placement, the birth mother can request payment of medical expenses, as well as reasonable living expenses. You can also pay for counseling for birth parents, as well as their legal fees.
In New Jersey, if an adoption proceeding is terminated or is not finalized, the adopting parents do not have a right to reimbursement of expenses paid on behalf of the birth parent. If a child has already been placed with adoptive parents, the return of the child cannot be conditioned on reimbursement of expenses. In Pennsylvania adoptions, while payments can be made for the birth mother’s medical and legal expenses, payment for living expenses is not permitted.
Your Rights Regarding a Home Study
With the exception of some intra-family adoptions, including stepparent adoptions, all adoptive parents must submit to a home study. Furthermore, all adoptive parents and second parent adoptions, including family members, must provide fingerprints and be cleared by all child abuse registries.
The home study will look at a wide range of issues, including income, parenting styles, conflict management skills, and the actual accommodations of the house where the child will live. The purpose of the home study is to confirm that the emotional, physical, financial and other needs of the child will be met. The home study typically takes about eight to 10 weeks to complete, but can be completed on an expedited basis, if needed.
Contact Our Office
If you are considering filing for adoption, we have the experience and knowledge to protect your rights. You can reach us in Haddonfield, NJ at (856) 429-5005 or in Woodbury, NJ at (856) 845-2555. We can also be reached in Philadelphia, PA at (215) 563-2150 or by e-mail. Our offices are open weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Weekend and evening appointments may be arranged upon request.