Maybe you’ve been unable to have a child biologically, or you’ve just decided that you’d like to build a family by providing a good home for a child in need. But you’re concerned about the costs of adoption, as you’ve heard tales of couples spending tens of thousands of dollars to bring a child into their homes. So how much can you really expect to spend on an adoption? Two answers—one that won’t surprise and one that might.

The first answer—the one that’s not a surprise—is that it depends, and the variables are many:

• Are you adopting domestically or internationally? With many international adoptions, there’s a significant travel requirement, which can quickly escalate costs. However, you can just as easily spend lots of dollars in a domestic adoption, as you may have to travel out of state to pick up your child, and may not be able to leave the state with the child until all court proceedings are final.
• Are you using an agency? There will be a number of fees associated with an agency, but you’ll also have costs if you try to handle most of the details by yourself of with the assistance of an attorney.
• What have you agreed to pay for on behalf of the birth mother? Much of this is negotiable, but be advised. The more your birth mother asks and you give, the more she’s likely to keep asking. Don’t let yourself be fleeced just because you want a baby.

The second answer, which will surprise you, is that an adoption doesn’t need to, and often does actually, cost as much as you think it would:

• You’ll need to pay for a home study, which can cost anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand dollars. If the provider wants more than $750, ask them why.
• Many adoption agencies offer sliding fee scales, so that less affluent families can adopt, too.
• There are tax incentives for adoption, and many employers offer a variety of benefits to reduced the costs of adoption for employees
• There are loans and grants available to help families who seek to adopt. Check out the National Adoption Foundation as www.nafadopt.org.

Contact Our Office

To set up an appointment, call us in Haddonfield at 856-429-5005 or in Woodbury at 856-845-2555. We can also be reached in Philadelphia at 215-563-2150 or by e-mail. For clients with personal injury or workers’ compensation claims, we offer a free initial consultation, and will represent you on a contingency basis, only charging attorney fees if we recover compensation for you.

Our offices are open weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Weekend and evening appointments may be arranged upon request. We will also come to your home or the hospital, if necessary.

Effective January 1, 2017, any adult in New Jersey who was adopted as a child will have the right to learn who their birth parents were, unless those birth parents request that their names be removed from their child’s original birth certificate. Parents who put children up for adoption after August 1, 2015, however, may not request anonymity.

Authorities say that there are more than 300,000 adults in the state who were adopted as children. As of late December, only 244 birth parents had asked that their identities not be disclosed, and nearly three times as many adoptees had requested their original birth certificates.

The change did not come easily, as opponents have battled for decades. Proponents to the prior rule, which allowed birth records to be closed without a court order, cited privacy as the primary reason for maintaining the practice. However, advocates for adopted children, including the New Jersey Coalition for Adoption Reform and Education, contended that adults had a right to know the truth about their family histories, especially as it related to medical issues and hereditary and genetic issues.

Under the new approach, a birth parent who is willing to be contacted may request a direct contact or can ask for an intermediary. The request must be accompanied by a complete family history, addressing medical, cultural and social issues. Thus far, about 200 birth parents have provided medical histories.

Contact Our Office

To set up an appointment, call us in Haddonfield at 856-429-5005 or in Woodbury at 856-845-2555. We can also be reached in Philadelphia at 215-563-2150 or by e-mail. For clients with personal injury or workers’ compensation claims, we offer a free initial consultation, and will represent you on a contingency basis, only charging attorney fees if we recover compensation for you.

Our offices are open weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Weekend and evening appointments may be arranged upon request. We will also come to your home or the hospital, if necessary. will also come to your home or the hospital, if necessary.

So you’ve started the adoption process and it’s your first time. You know you have to go through a “home study,” but you’re not certain the full extent of that part of the process. Does the case worker or agency representative want to know about the physical home, the emotional home, or all of the above? You guessed it—all of the above. And what exactly will it look like?

Typically, the first thing an agency representative or social worker will ask is why you want to adopt. Social workers want to be sure that you’re not going into it for the wrong reasons—that your marriage is in trouble and you think a baby will solve all your problems, for example. You’ll be asked questions about your family growing up—how were you parented and how do you feel about that? The social worker will likely inquire about your parenting philosophy, determine who the disciplinarian is your relationship, and identify the types of discipline that get meted out.

Your home study will include an assessment of the physical space of your home, so that the case worker knows that you’ll have adequate room for the child, and that the environment will be safe. There will be discussions of your financial status, in addition to conversations about who will provide care to the child. The case worker will also seek to learn about your health, so that there are assurances that you will be able to care for the child.

Contact Our Office

To set up an appointment, call us in Haddonfield at 856-429-5005 or in Woodbury at 856-845-2555. We can also be reached in Philadelphia at 215-563-2150 or by e-mail. For clients with personal injury or workers’ compensation claims, we offer a free initial consultation, and will represent you on a contingency basis, only charging attorney fees if we recover compensation for you.

Our offices are open weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Weekend and evening appointments may be arranged upon request. We will also come to your home or the hospital, if necessary.

It’s an unfortunate reality of life that, as an adopted parent, you can do everything right to raise a healthy and well-adjusted child, and your child may still struggle with issues specifically related to being adopted. Every person reacts differently to the circumstances in their lives and you simply can’t control how others, including your adopted child, will interpret events. Nonetheless, here are some typical long-term challenges faced by adoptees and some strategies for addressing them.

The Challenges

It’s not uncommon for an adopted child to hang on to feelings of grief—grief for their own loss of relationship with biological family members, and grief for their biological family’s loss. Many adopted children carry a long term challenge with sense of identity, particularly those who’ve had no contact with their biological parents. There are also self-esteem issues tied to a sense of abandonment, and there can be intense feelings of guilt when adopted children want to learn more about their biological parents.

Your Best Response

There is no one response that’s going to work with every adopted child, but here are some ways that you can build healthy emotional relationships with your adopted child:

• Empathize—try to put yourself in your child’s shoes, and understand how they might be feeling
• Be consistent—Your child will come to trust you more if you are predictable, and will be more willing to be open about challenges or problems
• Be there—As often as possible, be emotionally available for your child
• Don’t take things personally—Your child isn’t doing anything a biological child wouldn’t do

Contact Our Office

To set up an appointment, call us in Haddonfield at 856-429-5005 or in Woodbury at 856-845-2555. We can also be reached in Philadelphia at 215-563-2150 or by e-mail. For clients with personal injury or workers’ compensation claims, we offer a free initial consultation, and will represent you on a contingency basis, only charging attorney fees if we recover compensation for you.

Our offices are open weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Weekend and evening appointments may be arranged upon request. We will also come to your home or the hospital, if necessary.

When your child hits the age of 13, a lot of things can change…the rapid physical and hormonal growth will literally make your child a different person. That applies for adopted children as well as biological children. Your adopted teenager will need parental supervision and emotional guidance just as much, if not more, at 15 as at five. The teenaged years see a lot of changes in the brain, and tend to be when people develop lifelong skills in reasoning, control and judgment. Here are some things you can do to help your adopted kids through this difficult time.

• Encourage your child to take healthy risks—If your child doesn’t learn to take risks now, it will be even more difficult for them to do so as adults. But you want the risks to be safe. Encourage them to take up a musical instrument, try a new sport, or go on a chaperoned trip.
• Allow your child to make decisions—The more decisions you make for your child, the less they’ll be able to make their own decisions when the time comes. Ask your child to be engaged in planning—meals, activities, clothes, classes—but be there to talk to them when they may be inclined to make decisions that could have long-term negative repercussions.
• Let your child see the world—Expose them to different cultural, social and physical activities, but always do so in a way that’s safe for everyone involved.
• Set boundaries—It’s essential to establish limits on activities, from television and devices to food and alone time
• Seek professional assistance when something is out of your comfort zone—If your child is having emotional or developmental challenges and you don’t feel equipped to handle it, look to a professional.

Contact Our Office

To set up an appointment, call us in Haddonfield at 856-429-5005 or in Woodbury at 856-845-2555. We can also be reached in Philadelphia at 215-563-2150 or by e-mail. For clients with personal injury or workers’ compensation claims, we offer a free initial consultation, and will represent you on a contingency basis, only charging attorney fees if we recover compensation for you.

Our offices are open weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Weekend and evening appointments may be arranged upon request. We will also come to your home or the hospital, if necessary.