Learn about the legal fees and costs of stepparent adoption in Los Angeles County. We will tell you about legal fees in general from other attorneys, and compare our very simple and clear fees. Let's get started . . .
OUR AFFORDABLE AND TRANSPARENT LEGAL FEES
If your step parent adoption is uncontested - as most are - meaning the absent parent can be found and is willing to sign a consent, our retainer with you guarantees you a flat fee of $2,500. This would only change if the the absent parent's consent can't be obtained or there is a rare legal complication. This can usually be identified before you start. If you are concurrently adopting siblings, we reduce the second child's adoption significantly, to just a $1,500 flat fee.
A sad reality is that many attorneys quote you a low price for a step parent adoption, then end up charging you much more by the time you have completed your finalization hearing. You'll often hear: "It took longer than expected." To see how easy and likely that is to happen, consider that most SoCal family law attorneys charge about $400 an hour. Imagine how quickly that will add up when counting all his or her time spent with you or on your behalf:
- Researching the proper procedures.
- Preparing your legal documents (on average 8-10 pleadings/attachments)
- Writing needed correspondence.
- Working with the agency caseworker in their investigation.
- Communicating with the absent parent to sign his/her Consent to Adoption (an additional form prepared by the attorney, or sometimes the investigating agency, depending on the case).
- Calls/letters/emails with you as needed during the investigation.
- Reading the agency's final court report.
- Setting the final hearing.
- Travel time to court for your final hearing (if not done by video as is sometimes the case for attorney and/or the parties).
- Time at court for your final hearing. (Be aware 5-12 cases are usually set for the same time, so you might be waiting a long time in the hallway before your hearing begins. This varies by county. Some counties, like Los Angeles, are excellent about short waiting times.)
- Travel time back to their office after your final hearing.
- Prepare the form for the amended birth certificate.
Ask yourself if you really think the attorney will end up only billing you for just nine hours over months of working on your case (9 hours X $400 = $3,600) even for an uncontested adoption. Often it will be more, even with no complications. So do the math and compare their cost to working with us. Our flat fee of $2,500 also includes paying the court filing fee, and what lawyers call "out of pocket" or "actual" costs. This can include copies, faxes, notary, postage, mileage to court, et cetera. Those expenses are included in the flat fee for uncontested adoptions. Not included in our flat legal fee is your stepparent investigation ($700), which is paid directly to the adoption agency by you. That fee is the same whether you elect to have your investigation done by a licensed private adoption agency (recommended) or the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services. (Actions requiring a termination of parental rights action for an absent or non-consenting parent can involve a secondary agency report and investigation.)
So here are your simple and fully transparent total costs for most (uncontested) stepparent adoptions:
- The flat legal fee: $2,500 (includes the county filing fee).
- Stepparent investigation: $700.
- Fingerprinting for the adopting stepparent: $64.
Additional costs to a stepparent adoption
If the absent parent won't consent, an action to terminate his/her rights will be required. The rights of absent birth fathers is complicated. If the birth father is in the "alleged" category, and he can't be found or is found but does not object, we have a flat fee of $1,850 for such uncontested actions. (There are extra costs if he can't be found to serve and a "due diligence search" is required by the court.) When the birth father is "presumed" (named on the birth certificate, previously married to the mother, had the child in his home and held the child out his natural child, or had a paternity determination by a court), then a termination of parental rights action is more complicated and we charge hourly. When you have your consultation and we learn the facts of your case we can give you an estimate of costs. Through the default stage the legal fee is usually $3,800. Termination of parental rights actions are in addition to the flat fee.
If you are adopting more than one stepchild at the same time, be aware the court does not permit us to lump multiple children in the same petition. Each child is a separate case with completely separate documents, but the attorney can arrange to get them to be finalized at the same time in the same hearing. If you are adopting siblings, the flat fee is reduced to $1,500 for the second child as long as the sibling is being adopted at the same time.
10% Military Discount
We have great respect and appreciation for the men and women serving in the Armed Services. (Our senior counsel, Allen, served in the Air Force.) If the step parent (or their spouse) is active military, We discount the flat fee by 10%, thus $2,250 rather than $2,500. This is a small way to say thanks for your selfless service.
