Many types of families desire to adopt a newborn or infant. Some families have been experiencing primary or secondary infertility, have been having trouble conceiving or maintaining a pregnancy, have experienced stillbirth or infant loss, or are medically contraindicated from becoming pregnant. Some families are physically unable to become pregnant due to medical reasons, due to age, due to being a single person, or due to being a same-sex or transgender couple. Some families, regardless of whether they already have or plan to have biological children, desire to adopt a child for personal reasons or moral imperatives.
Private infant adoption involves being matched with birth parents during the birth mother’s pregnancy or, more rarely, after the baby has been born. Some adoptive families contact us having already been matched with a birth family, whereas other adoptive families utilize our matching services. In either case, we will be with you every step of the way during the adoption process.
In deciding whether to accept an adoptive match, the adoptive family will be provided with all available social and medical background information about the birth parents as well as all medical records from the birth mother’s prenatal care and, if the baby has already been born, medical records for the delivery and the baby. The social and medical background information provided to the adoptive family is distilled from information provided by the birth parents in a comprehensive social and medical background form. All information and medical records are redacted to remove confidential information.
The adoptive family will also be provided with a projection as to the cost of the specific adoption contemplated. Because the birth mother may be entitled to her reasonable and necessary living expenses for the duration of her pregnancy plus 6 weeks post-partum, along with payment of her pregnancy-related medical expenses that are not covered by her insurance, no two adoptions will cost the same: each is dependent upon the specific circumstances of the birth mother as well as how far along in her pregnancy she was when she created her adoption plan.
Another consideration in deciding whether to accept an adoptive match is the degree of openness and post-adoption contact desired by the birth parents. Many birth parents desire to meet the adoptive family prior to the child’s birth, and some request post-adoption contact ranging from updates (letters, photos, videos) to visits (phone calls, video calls, in-person visits). It is important that this topic be thoroughly discussed prior to accepting a match. Each prospective adoption is different, and what is right for one set of birth/adoptive parents may not be right for another set—and the nature and fluidity of the relationship may change over time depending on the parties’ circumstances and feelings, including your child’s perspective as he/she grows. As a middle ground, there are many ways of providing updates without revealing your confidential information (e.g., a dedicated email address).
Regardless of whether you choose to provide updates or maintain an ongoing relationship with the birth family, incorporating your child’s adoption into the fabric of your family’s story is vital. In contrast to the secrecy and shame that shrouded adoptions decades ago, it has now been recognized by mental health professionals that adopted children thrive the most when their adoption story is talked about openly and without judgment from the beginning, woven into your child’s birth story just as any parent would tell his or her child about the day of their child’s birth.
In Florida, the birth mother’s consent to adoption can be taken 48 hours after the child is born, or earlier if the birth mother has been discharged from the hospital by her doctor. The birth father’s consent to adoption can be taken at any time after the child is born. Alternatively (or additionally), the birth father can sign an affidavit of non-paternity prior to the child’s birth, which can also be used to terminate his parental rights. If the child is 6 months of age or younger, then the consent is binding, enforceable, and irrevocable upon signing, absent fraud or duress. If the child is older than 6 months of age, then the consent is subject to a three-business-day revocation period.
Although the hospital will discharge the baby to the adoption entity (which will be the baby’s legal guardian pending finalization of the adoption), the baby will leave the hospital with the adoptive family as long as their home study is completed and up to date. Florida law requires that the home study provider conduct two post-placement visits with the adoptive family. Florida law permits an adoption to be finalized 90 days after placement of the child with the adoptive family. How long it will take to finalize your adoption will depend on the specific circumstances of your case, including whether the adoption is contested or uncontested, and whether the child qualifies for adoption subsidies which must be applied for and obtained through an agency prior to the finalization. The court is authorized to grant the child a name change as part of the adoption proceeding.
To find out more about the adoption process, please contact us to arrange a consultation. We look forward to making your dream of adoption into reality.