agency v. attorney

Lbcollie · July 2012

I'm just curious for those of you who have adopted already or have already completed paperwork, home studies, etc. what made you choose to go with an attorney instead of an agency, or vice versa? My husband are just getting started researching adoption and talking about what our first steps should be. We are torn on which route to go. Of course we plan to visit a few agencies and some attorneys to help us make our decision...just wanted to see what reasons you all had for choosing one versus the other. Thanks!

lafayettegirl · July 2012

Money was one big factor. The attorneys in our area charge much more than some of the agencies.

That being said, you need to meet with both and see what each offers. You may find that the attorneys in your area are more comparable (price-wise) to agencies and thus money is not as big of a factor.

There are other factors too, but money (for us) was a big one.

IRR · July 2012

Our state laws were funky and we wanted more control over the process, so we were recommended to an attorney that had completed adoptions in our state. We didn't like that the agencies in our area had a sliding scale based on income, also our SW told us there has been very few adoptions in our state based on the laws here. Our attorney allowed us more options and again allows for more control. As the BM who posted earlier, by not using an agency we have had contact with the BM immediately. We did our own advertising and networking which also kept costs in line with most agencies. Definitely talk to both and see which you route you are more comfortable taking.

Dr.Loretta · July 2012

We were complete idiots going into this and wanted a full-service agency that would walk us through the whole process. We went with a large, well-established agency with a kick-a$$ SW.

We only called one lawyer and it just didn't click with us.

What works for one family may not work for another. Talk to places and see how they feel. You may find an attorney you love, and go that route. Nothing wrong with that.

Julie721 · July 2012

We were between an agency and an attorney at first. We ended up doing our home study with the agency, but a standalone one, which helped us really get to know them. At the same time, we had a preliminary meeting with the attorney.

There were two main reasons we ended up going with the attorney. The first was how they handled information. The attorney told us EVERYTHING and was completely up front with what they need from us each step, why they do what they do, etc. The second was how much I trusted them with the expectant parents. The attorney had adopted himself and was a BIG advocate of open adoption. They want the birthparents to have as much info as possible and also encourage the relationship between birthparents/adoptive parents to be direct instead of acting as a go-between (except when it came to the financials, they acted as the mediator for all of that, which worked out best, I think).

In the end, I can't say enough how happy we are with our attorney, and are planning on going the same route for #2.

silliestbunny · July 2012

We started out thinking we wanted to be w/an agency for many of the reasons that DrL stated. Ultimately we signed up w/an adoption organization that was law based/not an agency but ran like an agency. It's a big national organization.... but we had to have a "real" agency do our homestudy.

As luck would have, we never matched through our first organization and ended up with two private adoptions using attorneys (and a facilitator for DD2).

There are pros and cons. IMO it's about the professionals and ethics involved. My concerns for either would be the support of birth moms (how and for how long) as well as fee structure. Volume is another good question (and that's volume both of BMs and PAPs).

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agency v. attorney

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