Most international adoption must comply with the Hague Convention.  The Hague Convention was an agreement signed by many nations that, among other things, regulated custody disputes and adoption between countries.  It was designed to prevent kidnapping, sex trade, child-for-purchase agreements, and other bad actions that could put a child in harm’s way or violate the rights of a child and/or the child’s parents.

While the Hague Convention can create some frustration for those seeking international adoptions, the Hague Convention also provides a great deal of protection.  Because of those protections over properly executed adoptions, an international adoption can be as secure as an adoption within one’s own state.  Our firm recommends that if someone has opportunities to adopt internationally, that they focus on countries that are members of the Hague Convention.  However, we have experience with non-Hague Convention countries; each of these is handled differently based on the laws of the country in question.  Some of these countries are more amicable to the US (such as Jamaica, which has signed the Hague Convention, but adoption laws are not under the Hague Convention between the US and Jamaica yet), while others are more difficult (such as Pakistan).

We have a retaining fee of $5,000.00 for international adoptions.  We bill hourly at $250.00 to $395.00 per hour, depending on the experience and position of the attorney performing the work.  (Experts, Legal fees from country of origin, interpreter/translator fees, and other costs are not included in this fee.  More details would be explained in a legal services agreement.)

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To schedule a free consultation with one of our family law attorneys call 770-863-8355.

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