{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-10-10-7505-3.2","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 10, § 10-7505-3.2","heading":"Costs, funds or monies expended by adoptive family –","body":"Disclosure statement.\n\nA. 1. An affidavit shall be attached to the petition for\n\nadoption, or may be filed after the filing of the petition for\n\nadoption, but prior to the final decree of adoption, which discloses\n\nto the court all of the costs, funds, or monies expended by the\n\nadoptive family or expected to be expended in connection with the\n\nadoption of a minor.\n\n2. No final decree of adoption shall be entered until the court\n\nis satisfied that all costs and expenses have been disclosed, are\n\nreasonable, and that the costs and expenses do not violate the\n\nprovisions of subsection B of this section. Upon its review of the\n\naffidavit of monies expended, the court shall in writing disapprove\n\nany expenditure that the court deems unreasonable or in violation of\n\nSections 865 through 870 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes and,\n\nto the extent necessary to comply with Oklahoma law, shall order\n\nreimbursement of any consideration given in violation of Sections\n\n865 through 870 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes. Payments made\n\npursuant to this section shall not be a violation of Sections 865\n\nthrough 870 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes. Court approval of\n\nthe affidavit of monies expended shall not exempt a person, attorney\n\nor licensed child-placing agency from prosecution if the information\n\nprovided to the court is fraudulent or false.\n\nB. 1. Except as otherwise specifically provided by law, the\n\nfollowing list of adoption-related costs and expenses specified in\n\nthis paragraph may be deemed proper items for a person to pay in\n\nconnection with an adoption:\n\na. reasonable attorney fees and court costs,\n\nb. reasonable medical expenses for birth mother and minor\n\nto be adopted,\n\nc. reasonable adoption counseling expenses for birth\n\nparents before and after the birth of the minor, not\n\nto exceed six (6) months from placement of the minor,\n\nd. reasonable fees of a licensed child-placing agency,\n\nincluding social services staff fees provided by\n\nagency employees that include:\n\n(1) casework services,\n\n(2) adoptive child and family studies,\n\n(3) placement services,\n\n(4) certification of agency facilities,\n\n(5) admission assessments, and\n\n(6) service planning,\n\ne. (1) reasonable and necessary living expenses of the\n\nbirth mother that are incurred during the\n\nadoption planning process or during the\n\npregnancy, not to exceed two (2) months after the\n\nbirth of the minor or after the consent or\n\nrelinquishment of the birth mother. Reasonable\n\nand necessary living expenses include but are not\n\nlimited to:\n\n(a) housing expenses,\n\n(b) utilities, such as electric, gas, water, or\n\ntelephone bills,\n\n(c) food for the birth mother and any minor\n\nchild of the birth mother residing in the\n\nhome of the birth mother,\n\n(d) travel expenses for transportation to\n\nsupport the pregnancy, such as gasoline, bus\n\nfares, or providing for the temporary use of\n\na vehicle during the pregnancy, and\n\n(e) child care or foster care for any minor\n\nchild of the birth mother associated with\n\npregnancy-related medical care.\n\n(2) Reasonable and necessary living expenses shall\n\nnot include:\n\n(a) any expenses met by existing resources of\n\nthe birth mother,\n\n(b) any expenses used for the support of family\n\nmembers who are not minor children of the\n\nmother,\n\n(c) any expenses for recreational or leisure\n\nactivities, and\nmother associated with\n\npregnancy-related medical care.\n\n(2) Reasonable and necessary living expenses shall\n\nnot include:\n\n(a) any expenses met by existing resources of\n\nthe birth mother,\n\n(b) any expenses used for the support of family\n\nmembers who are not minor children of the\n\nmother,\n\n(c) any expenses for recreational or leisure\n\nactivities, and\n\n(d) the purchase or gift of an automobile,\n\nf. reasonable expenses for a home study,\n\ng. reasonable and necessary costs associated with an\n\ninternational adoption,\n\nh. reasonable expenses legally required by any\n\ngovernmental entity related to the adoption of a\n\nminor, and\n\ni. a one-time gift to the birth mother from the\n\nprospective adoptive parents of no greater value than\n\nOne Hundred Dollars ($100.00).\n\n2. In addition, all expenses approved by the court should be\n\ncommensurate with other customary fees for similar services by\n\npersons of equivalent experience and training where the services are\n\nperformed. Any services provided outside this state shall be\n\nallowed in an amount as if the services had been performed within\n\nthe State of Oklahoma.\n\n3. The provisions of this subsection shall apply to living and\n\ntransportation expenses incurred after the biological mother of the\n\nminor contacts the child-placing agency or attorney for adoption\n\nservices.\n\n4. The provisions of this subsection shall not prohibit a court\n\nfrom extending any time period, or including any additional costs\n\nand expenses in connection with an adoption other than those\n\nspecified in this subsection based on unusual circumstances or need.\n\nIf additional costs and expenses in connection with an adoption are\n\napproved by the court, the court shall specify in writing the\n\nunusual circumstances that justify the approval.\n\n5. Except as otherwise ordered by the court except for good\n\ncause shown, all payments made pursuant to this section shall be\n\npaid directly to the third-party provider of services or goods. Any\n\nliving expense paid on behalf of a birth mother in a domestic\n\nadoption which is not supported by an itemized receipt shall not be\n\nallowed for payment. If gift cards are issued to pay expenses, an\n\nitemized receipt verifying purchases shall be required for approval\n\nby the court. The accounting shall include vouchers for all monies\n\nexpended, copies of all checks written and receipts for all cash\n\npayments attesting to the accuracy of the accounting.\n\n6. No person, attorney or licensed child-placing agency shall\n\nhave a financial interest in a third-party provider of services or\n\ngoods, without disclosing in an affidavit the financial interest to\n\nthe court and the other parties to the adoption.\n\nC. Any person, attorney, or licensed child-placing agency\n\ndesiring to pay living and transportation expenses on behalf of a\n\nbirth mother is authorized to expend an initial amount not to exceed\n\nThree Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($3,500.00) plus deposits for\n\nhousing and utilities for such costs and expenses without first\n\nobtaining court approval as required by paragraph 1 of subsection D\n\nof this section. Any such costs and expenses shall be disclosed as\n\nis otherwise required by the Oklahoma Adoption Code.\n\nD. 1. Except for the amount authorized by subsection C of this\n\nsection, the payment of any living or transportation expenses for\n\nbenefit of the birth mother as authorized in subparagraph e of\n\nparagraph 1 of subsection B of this section shall be approved in\n\nadvance by the court.\n\n2. The person, attorney, or licensed child-placing agency\n\ndesiring to pay living or transportation expenses on behalf of a\n\nbirth mother which exceed the amount in subsection C of this section\n\nshall file a petition for an order approving payment of adoption-\n\nrelated expenses.\n\n3. The petition for an order approving payment of adoption-\n\nrelated expenses shall be filed in the district court where the\ne person, attorney, or licensed child-placing agency\n\ndesiring to pay living or transportation expenses on behalf of a\n\nbirth mother which exceed the amount in subsection C of this section\n\nshall file a petition for an order approving payment of adoption-\n\nrelated expenses.\n\n3. The petition for an order approving payment of adoption-\n\nrelated expenses shall be filed in the district court where the\n\nadoption petition is to be filed, as provided in Section 7502-1.2 of\n\nthis title.\n\n4. The petition shall be captioned: \"In the matter of Baby\n\n(name).\" The petition shall include a listing of all anticipated\n\nliving or transportation expenses to be paid on behalf of the birth\n\nmother for which court approval is being sought. If additional\n\nexpenditures not previously authorized by the court are needed on\n\nbehalf of the birth mother, an amended petition may be filed with\n\nthe court.\n\n5. The petition shall be heard by the court within ten (10)\n\ndays of filing. The court clerk shall charge the same cost for a\n\npetition for payment of expenses as is charged for the filing of an\n\nadoption petition. In the event an adoption petition is later filed\n\nin the same county, the adoption petition shall be filed as an\n\namended petition within the same case in which payment for expenses\n\nwas approved and no additional court costs shall be required. In\n\nthe event a petition for preadoption termination of parental rights\n\nis later filed in the same county, the court clerk shall not assess\n\nan additional filing fee and may use the same case number as for the\n\npetition for adoption.\n\n6. Any order authorizing payment shall be attached to a\n\npetition for adoption. If no adoption petition is filed, the court\n\nshall retain jurisdiction to enter any orders deemed appropriate\n\nregarding the reimbursement of costs and expenses paid. If the\n\nchild is placed for adoption outside the State of Oklahoma, any such\n\norder shall be submitted to the Interstate Compact of the Placement\n\nof Children and to the court in the other state where the petition\n\nfor adoption is to be filed.\n\nE. 1. In addition to the adoptive family affidavit requirement\n\nof subsection A of this section, a Disclosure Statement of Adoption-\n\nrelated Costs and Expenditures shall be prepared in writing by the\n\nperson, attorney or child-placing agency in a direct-placement\n\nadoption. The Disclosure Statement of Adoption-related Costs and\n\nExpenditures shall include a declaration of all fees, expenses, and\n\ncosts charged or expected to be charged for the adoption including,\n\nbut not limited to, the following:\n\na. retainer fees, the hourly rate, and the number of\n\nhours billed for the adoption,\n\nb. any fee charged for preplacement or other home studies\n\nof any prospective birth parents, regardless of\n\nwhether the home study was performed by an outside\n\nagency,\n\nc. any costs, fees or expenses or any other thing of\n\nvalue paid to or on behalf of the birth parents\n\nrelated to the adoption of a minor by any party other\n\nthan the adoptive parents, and\n\nd. any other fees and expenses related to the adoption\n\nnot otherwise specifically listed in this section.\n\n2. The Disclosure Statement of Adoption-related Costs and\n\nExpenditures containing true and accurate information shall be filed\n\nbefore or when the final decree of adoption is ordered in each\n\nadoption of a minor in this state. A statutory Disclosure Statement\n\nof Adoption-related Costs and Expenditures is provided in Section\n\n7505-3.3 of this title. A copy of the statement shall be a public\n\nrecord to be compiled and maintained by the court clerk and\n\navailable for public inspection; provided, that any information\n\nidentifying the person, attorney or child-placing agency in the\n\ndirect adoption shall be redacted from the document prior to filing\n\nwith the court clerk and shall not be made public. In addition, the\n\nidentity of the child, the adoptive parents, and the birth parents\nlic\n\nrecord to be compiled and maintained by the court clerk and\n\navailable for public inspection; provided, that any information\n\nidentifying the person, attorney or child-placing agency in the\n\ndirect adoption shall be redacted from the document prior to filing\n\nwith the court clerk and shall not be made public. In addition, the\n\nidentity of the child, the adoptive parents, and the birth parents\n\nshall be redacted from the document prior to filing with the court\n\nclerk and shall not be made public.","path":["OK Code","Title 10"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os10.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"6e8497b46b945732a9d5ac96a1caae886a6cf68f23baf2ca00ba41de6520580c","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-10-10-7505-3.1","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-10-10-7505-3.3"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}