The fees cover birth parent counseling, adoptive home study and preparation, child's birth expenses, postplacement supervision until the adoption is final, and some agency costs. Be sure to ask the agency you choose if it offers this benefit. An independent adoption is a type of private adoption, where a couple seeks out a birth parent or hires a lawyer to arrange the adoption. Additional costs include placing advertisements to find a baby. There have been cases where adoptive parents pay the birth parent's expenses only to have the birth parent change her mind and not reimburse the money.
Independent adoptions are illegal in some states.
Qualified expenses may include agency and attorney fees, court costs, and some travel expenses. However, the maximum amount you claim cannot exceed the total cost of the adoption. Not everyone qualifies for the adoption tax credit. You can claim the credit even if the adoption has not become final and if the adoption process is interrupted and never becomes final. International adoptions qualify for the tax credit, but not until the end of the year that the adoption becomes final.