Welcome to A Gift of Hope Adoptions!
We are so happy you chose to visit our web site. A Gift of Hope Adoptions is a licensed Missouri adoption agency based in Columbia, Missouri. We service the entire state of Missouri, and can also assist those not located in Missouri.
We understand what a confusing and difficult process adoption can be. Our adoption counselors are here to help you navigate the systems in the process of your adoption, and be there for you during both the happy and difficult times. If you are an adoptive family looking to start the adoption process we would be happy to introduce you to our agency and help you along the way.
If you are pregnant and unsure of what your options are please feel free to give us a call. We will explain them to you without pressuring you to choose, and help you when you do make your decision.
Please look around the site, and if you have any questions let us know. There is a contact form as well as contact information below if you prefer not to submit your requests over the web. Good luck with your journey.
This site, the contents of this site, and any links on this site are intended for informational purposes only, and should not be taken as professional advice or contract of services. One should not rely solely upon information given through this web site, or links on this web site. Communication with our office via the feedback page or via the contact information provided does not create a client relationship. The inclusion of information or links does not constitute an endorsement or sponsorship.
More Adoption Legal Costs
By The Staff at AGoHA, 6/13/09
Written by Dewey Crepeau, Executive Director and Adoption Attorney of nearly 30 years
While most people understand that adoption laws vary from state by state, you might assume that adoption is pretty much the same within the same state. But we have found that procedures vary greatly even within a state. If the state requires a court proceeding as part of the adoption process a judge’s position on adoption has to be considered. What one judge is fine with may not sit well with another judge. Many courts have local rules, some written, some unwritten, that govern how adoptions take place. These rules can vary from court to court or judge to judge.
Of course, there is simple old “supply and demand.” Part of our service is to help adoptive parents find the attorney to assist in their adoption. Sometimes I will personally know an attorney that I can recommend. Other times I can get either a personal recommendation from another lawyer or I know how to find an experienced adoption attorney in that part of the state. But sometimes we have to simply start looking for an attorney with not a lot to go on as to who is available and experienced. It helps when the “cold call” to an attorney’s office is made by another attorney (like me) on your behalf. I try to balance expertise with cost in making a recommendation to you. But sometimes there is little or no choice in finding an experienced adoption attorney to assist you.
For example, we recently had a case where we had one of the highest legal fees ever paid by one of our families for an uncontested adoption. This was in the same state where the year before we had one of the lower fees charged by an adoption attorney for a similar type of adoption. So why did that happen? The difference was that there was simply no other attorney available in that part of the state with the necessary experience to handle the adoption. Our family had to pay their fees (and accept their practices and procedures in adoption cases) or walk away from the adoption.
Topics: Adoption Law | Adoptive Families | Adoption Procedures
Adoption Legal Costs
By The Staff at AGoHA, 5/29/09
Written by Dewey Crepeau, Executive Director and Adoption Attorney of nearly 30 years
Normally you see articles written by our Director of Social Services. However, one of the advantages of having an adoption agency with an attorney as the Executive Director is that we have some insight into the legal aspects of adoption. Next to agency fees, legal costs are usually the next single largest (and occasionally the largest) expenditure that a family makes as a part of the adoption process.
Legal costs vary greatly. They vary from one state to another, and they often vary a lot even within a state. Some reasons are pretty simple. In some states, there is more legal work involved in an adoption than in another state. Occasionally, for example, there is more work involved due to the position of the participants in the adoption. While it is has been our experience that a birth father almost never blocks an adoption, sometimes his lack of cooperation causes greater legal fees. Sometimes birth mothers miss appointments or otherwise cause delays that may add to the legal process. Adoptive parents may feel more comfortable proceeding one way (legally) in an adoption than another, less costly way.
I have also noticed over the years, well decades actually, that legal fees for adoptions seem to increase in waves. We will go several years with one average price, and then suddenly everyone seems to have raised their rates all at once, and voila, I am finding that what was an average price last year has suddenly increased by a thousand dollars or so.We can’t avoid the legal process in our system of adoption these days. Lawyers may not agree with all the laws and rules that they have deal with (and charge you for) but they do have to be followed. More next time on legal costs associated with adoption.
Topics: Adoption Law | Finances | Adoptive Families | Adoption Procedures
Happy Mother’s Day
By Elizabeth Ehlen, 5/8/09
A very happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there - adoptive, biological and birth mothers. Please do remember all the birth mothers out there who may not be celebrating this Mother's Day quite like the rest of us, and if any of you birth moms are reading this post, thank you. Without you, there are many adoptive moms who would not be celebrating this day.
Topics: Adoptive Families | Birth Parents
Single Parent Adoption
By Elizabeth Ehlen, 4/24/09
We frequently get asked by people if we work with single parents. We do work with single parents on a limited basis and only if you are truly single - not living together with a partner or engaged. However, we do caution our single parents that it is likely that they will wait longer than average for a placement than our married couples. The big reason is because most birth mothers request a married couple to adopt their child. They feel that if they wanted their child raised by a single parent, they would keep the child rather than placing him/her for adoption. While that may sound harsh, it is what we hear from birth mothers. Of course, there are unique challenges faced by single parents, and these challenges must be very carefully considered before moving forward with adoption. As with dual-income married couples, child care plans must be carefully thought out before proceeding with the adoption. Unlike with married couples, single parents cannot fall back on a partner to pick up a child if there is an emergency at work. A single parent must surround him or herself with supportive families and friends, and must also make careful guardianship arrangements if something should happen. There is also the question of future relationship plans, and how having a child would affect those plans. While none of these are insurmountable obstacles, they are often more present for single parents, and should be carefully thought out prior to adopting. Particularly for single parents, it is important not to limit yourself when presenting yourself on possible adoption situations. Be as open as possible with race, gender, contact and health of the child (within reason for your situation of course) and remember that often if you are shown with other families that have a married couple, you may get overlooked simply for that reason, which is why it is extra important for you to get shown as much as possible. Don't give up if adoption is what you really want; just be realistic about how long it will take for you to adopt and how attractive you will be to birth parents.
