Birth Mother Expenses

Is it legal for a couple who is looking to adopt to pay for birth mother expenses? The answer is Yes it is legal. The expenses should be reasonable such as rent, utilities, etc. It is reasonable that a birth mom could have expenses that would keep her from working. In our adoption, we paid for a cell phone for the birth mom because that was our only means of communication with her. She was out of state and that helped us. We bought a prepaid phone so that we control the expenses and are not left with a bill later on. If possible, pay these as you go and get the paperwork associated with the bill, phone bill, power bill, gas bill, etc.

Some agencies will ask you to come up with a budget where you have "at risk" money. The "at risk" money is for birth moms who decide to keep the baby after you have already paid some of those expenses. You as a couple will have to decide what the amount you are willing to put up "at risk". Adoptions interrupt all the time and you might lose it. Be aware. I would suggest a lot of communication with the birth mom. The more she knows that you are the couple for her child, the more comfortable she will be that adoption is the right decision for her and her child.