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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023)
SENATE BILL 187 By: Burns
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to adoption expenses; amending 10
O.S. 2021, Section 7505 -3.2, which relates to costs
expended by adoptive family; increasin g allowable
amount for certain expenses; updating statutory
reference; and providing an effective date .
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAH OMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 10 O.S. 2021, Section 7505 -3.2, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 7505-3.2. A. 1. An affidavit shall be attached to the
petition for adoption, or may be filed after the filing of the
petition for adoption, but prior to the final decree of adoption,
which discloses to the court all of th e costs, funds, or monies
expended by the adoptive family or expected to be expended in
connection with the adoption of a minor.
2. No final decree of adoption shall be entered until the court
is satisfied that all costs and expenses have been disclosed, are
reasonable, and that the costs and expenses do not violate the
provisions of subsection B of this section. Upon its review of the
affidavit of monies expended, the court shall in writing disapprove
any expenditure that the court deems unreasonable or in violation of
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Sections 865 through 870 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Stat utes and,
to the extent necessary to comply with Oklahoma law, shall order
reimbursement of any consideration given in violation of Sections
865 through 870 of Title 21 of the Oklahom a Statutes. Payments made
pursuant to this section shall not be a violat ion of Sections 865
through 870 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes. Court approval of
the affidavit of monies expended shall not exempt a person, attorney
or licensed child-placing agency from prosecution if the information
provided to the court is frau dulent or false.
B. 1. Except as otherwise specifically provided by law, the
following list of adoption -related costs and expenses specified in
this paragraph may be deemed proper i tems for a person to pay in
connection with an adoption:
a. reasonable attorney fees and court costs,
b. reasonable medical expenses for birth mother and minor
to be adopted,
c. reasonable adoption counsel ing expenses for birth
parents before and after the birth of the minor, not
to exceed six (6) months from placement of the m inor,
d. reasonable fees of a licensed child -placing agency,
including social services staff fees provided by
agency employees that include:
(1) casework services,
(2) adoptive child and family studies,
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(3) placement services,
(4) certification of agency facilities,
(5) admission assessments, and
(6) service planning,
e. (1) reasonable and necessary living expenses of the
birth mother that are incurred during the
adoption planning proc ess or during the
pregnancy, not to exceed two (2) months after the
birth of the minor or after the consent or
relinquishment of the birth mother. Reasonable
and necessary living expenses include but are not
limited to:
(a) housing expenses,
(b) utilities, such as electric, gas, water, or
telephone bills,
(c) food for the birth mother and any minor
child of the birth mother residing in the
home of the birth mother,
(d) travel expenses for transportation to
support the pregnancy, such as gasoline, bus
fares, or providing for the temporary use of
a vehicle during the pregnancy, and
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(e) child care or foster care for any minor
child of the birth mother associated with
pregnancy-related medical care.
(2) Reasonable and necessary living expenses shall
not include:
(a) any expenses met by existing resources of
the birth mother,
(b) any expenses used for the support of family
members who are not minor children of the
mother,
(c) any expenses for recreational or leis ure
activities, and
(d) the purchase or gift of an automobile,
f. reasonable expenses for a home study,
g. reasonable and necessary costs associated with an
international adoption,
h. reasonable expenses legally required by any
governmental entity related to the adoption of a
minor, and
i. a one-time gift to the birth mother from the
prospective adoptive parents of no greater value than
One Hundred Dollars ($100.00).
2. In addition, all expenses approved by the court should be
commensurate with other custo mary fees for similar services by
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persons of equivalent experience and training where the services are
performed. Any serv ices provided outside this state shall be
allowed in an amount as if the services had been performed within
the State of Oklahoma.
3. The provisions of this subsection shall apply to living and
transportation expenses incurred after the biological mother of the
minor contacts the child -placing agency or attorney for adoption
services.
4. The provisions of this subsection shall not pro hibit a court
from extending any time period, or in cluding any additional costs
and expenses in connection with an adoption other than those
specified in this subsection based on unusual circumstances or need.
If additional costs and expenses in connectio n with an adoption are
approved by the court, the c ourt shall specify in writing the
unusual circumstances that justify the approval.
5. Except as otherwise ordered by the court except for good
cause shown, all payments made pursuant to this section shall be
paid directly to the third -party provider of se rvices or goods. Any
living expense paid on behalf of a birth mother in a domestic
adoption which is not supported by an itemized receipt shall not be
allowed for payment. If gift cards are issued to pay expenses, an
itemized receipt verifying purchases shall be required for approval
by the court. The accounting shall inclu de vouchers for all monies
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expended, copies of all checks written and receipts for all cash
payments attesting to the accuracy of the accounting.
6. No person, attorney or licensed ch ild-placing agency shall
have a financial interest in a third -party provider of services or
goods, without disclosing in an affidavit the financial interest to
the court and the other parties to the adopti on.
C. Any person, attorney, or licensed child -placing agency
desiring to pay living and transportation expenses on behalf of a
birth mother is authorized to expend an initial amount not to exceed
One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) Three Thousand Five Hund red Dollars
($3,500.00) plus deposits for housing a nd utilities for such costs
and expenses without first obtaining court ap proval as required by
paragraph 1 of subsection D of this section. Any such costs and
expenses shall be disclosed as is otherwise re quired by the Oklahoma
Adoption Code.
D. 1. Except for the amount authorized by subsection C of this
section, the payment of any living or transportation expenses for
benefit of the birth mother as authorized in subparagraph e of
paragraph 1 of subsectio n B of this section shall be approved in
advance by the court.
2. The person, attorney, or licensed child -placing agency
desiring to pay living or transportation expenses on behalf of a
birth mother which exceed the amount in subsection C of this section
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shall file a petition for an order approving payme nt of adoption-
related expenses.
3. The petition for an order approving payment of adoption-
related expenses shall be filed in the district court where the
adoption petition is to be filed, as provided in Section 7502-1.2 of
this title.
4. The petition shall be captioned: “In the matter of Baby
(name).” The petition shall in clude a listing of all anticipated
living or transportation expenses to be paid on behalf of the birth
mother for which court approva l is being sought. If additional
expenditures not previously authorized by the court are needed on
behalf of the birth mot her, an amended petition may be filed with
the court.
5. The petition shall be heard by the court within ten (10)
days of filing. The court clerk shall charge the same cost for a
petition for payment of expenses as is charged for the filing of an
adoption petition. In the event an adoption petition is later filed
in the same county, the adoption petition shall be filed as an
amended petition within the same case in which payment for expenses
was approved and no additional court costs shall be required. In
the event a petition for preadoption termination of parental rights
is later filed in the same county, the court clerk shall not a ssess
an additional filing fee and may use the sam e case number as for the
petition for adoption.
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6. Any order authorizing payment shall be attached to a
petition for adoption. If no adoption petition is filed, the court
shall retain jurisdiction to ente r any orders deemed appropriate
regarding the reimbursement of costs and expenses paid. If the
child is placed for adoptio n outside the State of Oklahoma, any such
order shall be submitted to the Interstate Compact of the Placement
of Children and to the court in the other state where the petition
for adoption is to be filed.
E. 1. In addition to the adoptive family affidav it requirement
of subsection A of this section, a Disclosure Statement of Adoption -
related Costs and Expenditures shall be prepared i n writing by the
person, attorney or child -placing agency in a direct-placement
adoption. The Disclosure Statement of Adop tion-related Costs and
Expenditures shall include a declaration of all fees, expenses, and
costs charged or expected to be charged fo r the adoption including,
but not limited to, the following:
a. retainer fees, the hourly rate, and the number of
hours billed for the adoption,
b. any fee charged for preplacement or other home studies
of any prospective birth parents, regardless of
whether the home study was performed by an outside
agency,
c. any costs, fees or expenses or any other thing of
value paid to or on behalf of the birth parents
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related to the adoption of a minor by any party other
than the adoptive parents, and
d. any other fees and expenses related to the adoption
not otherwise specifically listed in this section.
2. The Disclosure Statement of A doption-related Costs and
Expenditures containing true and accurate information shall be filed
before or when the final decree of ado ption is ordered in each
adoption of a minor in th is state. A statutory Disclosure Statement
of Adoption-related Costs and Expenditures is provided in Section 2
7505-3.3 of this act title. A copy of the statement shall be a
public record to be compiled a nd maintained by the court clerk and
available for public inspection; provided, that any information
identifying the person , attorney or child-placing agency in the
direct adoption shall be redacted from the document prior to filing
with the court clerk an d shall not be made public. In addition, the
identity of the child, the adoptive parents, and the birth parents
shall be redacted from the document prior to filing with the court
clerk and shall not be made public.
SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2023.
59-1-123 TEK 1/9/2023 10:13:27 AM