The answer is….It depends on the specific situation and whether the adoption professional you are working with made you sign any exclusivity agreements when you signed up to use their services.

Here are some scenarios you might encounter: 

• You match with a private/independent situation listed with Adoption For My Child.
  Because the expectant mother is unrepresented, you can request that she work with your attorney (and/or current agency) to finalize the adoption (unless state law requires you to work with an agency in the mother’s home state and you are from another).
• You match with a  NON-private situation listed with Adoption For My Child.
  Because the expectant mother is already being represented by an adoption professional, it is expected (in most cases) that you would leave your current agency or consultant and finalize the adoption with the original adoption professional who brought the adoption situation to Adoption For My Child.
• If you have already have an attorney, you are always entitled to keep using your attorney regardless of what type of situation (private or non-private), HOWEVER, if the mother is already represented by one, you should plan to pay for her attorney fees as well as your own. Maintaining your own separate attorney ensures that your best interests are always represented.
• If you match with an independent situation and she lives in an “agency only” state, you will need to find an agency (usually from her state) to finalize the adoption, regardless if you already have an attorney or agency in your home state.