About Open Adoption | How an Attorney Can Help | Other Adoption Services
Non-Traditional Families | Personal Thoughts From Our Adopting Families | What's New
Stepparent Adoption Services | Domestic Partner Adoption Services

BUILDING YOUR FAMILY THROUGH DOMESTIC NEWBORN ADOPTION

Our office provides assistance, legal advice, and representation for domestic adoptions.  We locate and match prospective adoptive parents with expectant mothers who are interested in placing their child.  Our office also assists expectant mother with obtaining appropriate Medical and counseling services. We prepare the clients and the expectant mother for the hospital experience as well as termination of birth father rights to ensure a safe adoption, ending with finalization of the adoption in court. 

Susan Romer meets with prospective adoptive parents for an initial consultation which lasts two or more hours.This gives you a chance to meet with the attorney who will manage your case. The consult helps you begin your adoption planning as well as answering all the questions you might have about adoption. It allows you and the attorney to see how well you can work together before retaining the office to represent you. Once you retain our office, you will also spend time with Nina, our adoption social worker, to talk about adoption issues and to help you prepare for adoption. We will assist with your letter to birth parents, give advise on pictures to use, and suggestions as how to network to find a child. Susan and her staff work as a team to help you put your adoption plan together and move toward your goal of creating a family as quickly as possible. Most of our clients have a child in their home within a year of coming in for their first consultation, or even sooner.

We try to keep our fees affordable and spread out our payments as we do the appropriate work for you. If you retain our office there is a flat retainer fee to begin the process of looking for a child for you to adopt. Upon a match with a birth mother an additional fee is due. When the child is placed in your home, the final fee is paid. We also can help you if you are working with a birth mother you have found on your own or through a facilitator or agency. Fees are always discussed in advance of hiring our firm so you know what to expect for your situation.

BIRTH PARENTS ARE NOT CHARGED FOR LEGAL SERVICES RENDERED ON THEIR BEHALF.

In California, birth mothers may be assisted by adopting parents, if needed, with pregnancy related expenses, such as rent, groceries, telephone, utilities, public transportation or gas, and maternity clothes. Your birth mother must be offered at least 3 counseling sessions or more upon agreement, as well as her own legal representation.  If the birth mother does not have medical insurance or is not on Medi-Cal/Medicaid, the costs are covered by the adoptive parents. It is the needs of your particular birth mother that may determine the specific costs of your adoption.

For more information or to get your questions answered online, please click here

back to top

HOW AN ATTORNEY CAN HELP

Adoption is a wonderful, loving way to build a family.  But as you may be aware, adopting or placing a child can be quite complicated, with laws differing from state to state.  So it is important to become as knowledgeable as possible as you begin to build your family through adoption.
 
How can an attorney actually help me in the adoption process?
How can an attorney help me develop an adoption plan?
What are some of the specific legal issues that may arise?  And how can an  attorney address them?
I am already working with an adoption agency, do I still need an attorney?
We are considering adopting a child from another country.  We understand that the adoption will be finalized in that country.  Do we still need an attorney here?
How can an attorney help me regarding the issues of post-placement contact with the birth parent(s)?
How do I go about finding an experienced adoption attorney?

Q.  How can an attorney actually help me in the adoption process?
A.  A knowledgeable, experienced adoption attorney can help explain, simplify,  and organize the adoption process and outline your options.  The attorney can  clarify the relevant adoption laws and regulations in your state.  If you are  considering adopting or placing a child from another state, your attorney can consult with an experienced attorney who is familiar with the laws of that state, then explain them to you and/or refer you to that attorney. 
 
Q.  How can an attorney help me develop an adoption plan?
A.  Your attorney can assist you in weighing the advantages and difficulties  involved in adoption .  These include: working with in-state, out-of-state  agencies; using the Internet as a resource for finding birth parents; conducting an advertising campaign; and utilizing other networking techniques.  Your attorney can help you to develop a practical and legally secure plan that is specifically tailored to your needs. 
 
Q.  What are some of the specific legal issues that may arise?  And how can an  attorney address them?
A.  Your attorney can give legal advice regarding issues that may arise during the  pregnancy and after placement, such as:
1. Determining what, if any, payments to birth parents during pregnancy are legal and permissible under the laws of your state or other applicable jurisdictions; the attorney should monitor a trust account to pay these expenses. 
2. Making sure the birth parents' rights are fully and legally terminated.
3. Providing resources for appropriate adoption counseling to help the birth parents through this difficult time.
 
Q.  I am already working with an adoption agency, do I still need an attorney?
A.  An adoption agency attempts to assist all clients, whose needs and interests may or may not be in concert. So the agency must engage in a judicious balancing act. It is important to have an attorney to represent your interests and manage your case from beginning to the final hearing to make sure all appropriate legal work is done for a safe adoption.
 
Q.  We are considering adopting a child from another country.  We understand that the adoption will be finalized in that country.  Do we still need an attorney here?
A.  I advise parents who adopt a child overseas to re-adopt their child in their home state.  This protects you and the child from any possible retroactive changes in the law of the country from which you adopted your child. It also enables you to obtain a United States birth certificate for your child once your child had been re-adopted in your home state.
 
Q.  How can an attorney help me regarding the issues of post-placement contact with the birth parent(s)?
A.  Post-placement contact between the adoptive and birth parent(s) varies from none to periodic letters and photographs exchanged through your adoption agency to more open agreements involving phone calls and scheduled visits.  Your attorney can help you understand these options and, if appropriate, draft an applicable agreement or review with you any agreement that you and your birth parents have determined returned.  An attorney can file this post placement agreement in court if the parties want this to be a legal document rather than just an informal agreement.

Q.  How do I go about finding an experienced adoption attorney?
A.  The American Academy of Adoption Attorneys (AAAA) is the nationally recognized organization for adoption attorneys.  It is composed of approximately 300 adoption attorneys in the United States and Canada.  Currently, applicants for membership must have successfully completed at least 50 adoptions to be considered.  While there are excellent experienced attorneys who are not members of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys, the Academy is the largest and most easily available resource of experienced adoption attorneys.
 
The Academy of California Adoption Lawyers is a California organization for California lawyers who have completed more than 200 adoptions.
 
Susan Romer is a member of both AAAA and ACAL.

Back to Top

OTHER ADOPTION SERVICES
 
We offer many other adoption services.
  
Stepparent Adoption
We can assist if you would like to legally adopt your spouse's child or children.  We terminate the legal parents' rights, coordinate the social worker and home study, and complete all necessary legal work including court appearances. Click here to find out more about how we can help you with the stepparent adoption process.

Domestic Partner Adoptions
We can assist if you would like to legally adopt your domestic partner's child or children. We terminate the legal parents' right if necessary, coordinate the social worker and home study and complete all necessary legal work including court appearances. Click here to find out more about how we can help you with the domestic partner adoption process.
 
Adult Adoptions
The law provides that an adult person can legally adopt another adult person as long as the adoptee is at least 10 years younger. The adoptee's parent's rights do not need to be terminated. Often people choose to adopt an adult stepchild, relative or someone close to them either for emotional and inheritance purposes.

Relative Adoptions
We can assist you to legally adopt a relative who is a minor. We terminate the legal parents' rights, coordinate the social worker and home study and complete all necessary legal work including court appearances.
 
Readoptions of Foreign Adoptions
We can assist you with filing your adoption papers in California in order to get an American adoption decree andbirth certificate and insuring California jurisdiction for your adoption.
 
Guardianships
We can assist you with becoming the legal guardian of a minor. We coordinate with the probate worker (remove -and home study ) and complete all necessary legal work including court appearances. Often after a legal guardianship and adoption take place.
 
Please call for more details of procedures and fees for the above adoption services.
 
Mediation Services- Using Mediation in Adoption
 
The Goal
To give the parties an opportunity to express their concerns: to better understand one another's perspectives: and to reach a mutually acceptable, fair, child-focused agreement for present and future relationships.
 
The Mediator
A neutral, knowledgeable party facilitation communication between the parties to promote settlement.
 
The Benefits
-Avoids the polarization tendencies of the adversary system.
-Focuses on the present and future, not the past.
-Protects important relationships for the child.
-Is empowering: recognizes that al parties have legitimate needs and helps develop options to meet those needs.
-Is time limited: minimizes delay and disruption for the child.
-Offers an informal context for reaching an agreement.
-Allows for more control over the costs of the process.
 
How Does Mediation Work?
- An impartial mediator helps the parties create a sense of trust and communication between birth parents and adoptive parents so that they can develop solutions to problems that arise during the pregnancy, at the hospital and after placement.
- Birth parents, adoptive parents, extended family members and attorneys all meet together with the meditator to discuss the case and explore areas of fears and concerns.
- Everyone present at the mediation has the opportunity to talk without interruption about their concerns.
- The mediator may meet with persons individually, as well as all the parties together.
- Issues of gender, class, and race are balanced.
- Parties are able to come to create solutions to problems, rather than only a legal solution.
-Agreements reached in mediation are put into writing and may become an order of the court.
- Mediation is an available tool if there is a future breakdown in contact and communication agreed upon by the parties, rather than the court action.
 
To Whom Are Mediation Services Offered?
Mediation Services are offered to birth parents, adoptive parents, extended family members, adoption agencies, social service departments, and courts.