YES. You MUST use your own attorney to adopt from foster care. The foster care agencies do not–and cannot–represent your legal interests to the court. 

The State of Florida will subsidize your legal fees up to $1,000. That doesn’t sound like much, but remember, most adoptive families can access the Federal Adoption Tax Credit (FATC) for additional reimbursement. For adoptions finalized in 2024, the FATC is $16,810 per child. Additionally, many employers also offer adoption grants.

Foster care agencies often present prospective adoptive parents with a set list of attorneys to choose from. Some agencies will go so far as to tell you that you can’t choose your own attorney. This is not true. The list attorneys have varying degrees of relationships to the foster care agency and most do not specialize in adoption. These are attorneys who the foster care agency relies on to process the adoption very quickly and with minimal questions and advocacy on behalf of the prospective adoptive parents. Unfortunately, we have seen a number of cases where the legal review and preparation was minimal and where the prospective adoptive parents never had any kind of private communication with “their” attorney.