Posted on March 17, 2015
With the adoption field often suffering from a shortage of healthy newborns and a surplus of parents eager to adopt, this field is rife with opportunities for illegal activity, so it is vital that you know the law or have such an important legal advice.
It is illegal in any country for an adoption that requires exorbitant amounts of money be paid upfront to go forward, specifically if the money must be paid either to an unknown facilitating person or to a third party or agency acting as a go-between. Any request for large sums of money in this manner is an excellent sign that the adoption is a scam or other type of illegal activity. This illegal adoption itself will probably not be legally recognized even if it is completed.
As with any important step, it’s important to do your research during an adoption. You must make sure that the transaction is above-board and legal, and that neither yourselves, your adoption facilitator, nor the child are being scammed or mistreated. By working with an independent adoption attorney, you should be able to determine if the particular adoption process you are taking is a legal arrangement or not. If it is not, then you should not go through with it as you could end up facing criminal charges.
Whether you use a public or private adoption agency in the USA, and if you adopt internationally, you absolutely must have all paperwork examined and authorized by a lawyer. You should also check out the agency thoroughly and ensure they are licensed and bonded. If you are asked to have a large sum of money change hands then you should proceed very, very cautiously.