2016 Important Facts for Fostering or Adopting In Florida

Many families in Florida are thinking of fostering or adopting a child, but don’t know how to go about doing so. Here, not only is it important to realize that you do not have to do this alone—that there are experienced adoption attorneys out there available to assist you through the process—but it is also important to note that there are benefits out there for those who adopt and those who are adopted.

Federal Adoption Tax Credit

Although there are taxes associated with adopting a child, the tax credit can decrease those costs.

Open Adoptions Are Becoming More Common

Open adoptions—or rather, those that contain a continuous relationship between the adopted children and their biological parents—are becoming more and more common. However, it is entirely up to you as the adoptive parent as to whether an open adoption is in your interest.

Financial Implications

While raising any children can be expensive, adopted children can sometimes demand additional, unforeseen costs, such as legal fees or expenses related to adjusting to their new surroundings.

However, many do not realize that the state of Florida offers free tuition for state colleges and universities for students who either were raised in the foster system or were adopted from it up to the age of 28. The state is now also considering officially supporting these students through a postsecondary education so that foster children can also obtain a tuition-free graduate degree.

Given that the original statute was silent on whether the tuition waiver only applied to undergraduate degrees, for many, this would provide more clarity and security given that many thought that the tuition waiver applied until age 28, not just for their undergraduate education. It would also provide logical consistency for those who needed more than 120 credits to finish their degree. The new bill would also require university financial aid officers to notify any and all students who may be eligible for the waiver so that this issue of many foster (and adopted) children not knowing about the opportunity can be addressed. As of now, many aren’t finding out until they are in their final semesters and have taken out multiple loans.

For many children that are in the foster care system or adopted, this is a way of providing that extra support that they may not have received from a family. Until the details of the legislation are resolved, the state of Florida is letting students pursue graduate degrees tuition-free.

Contact Us about Adoption in Florida

If you are contemplating acquiring legal rights to take care of a child, contact the law office of Sandra Bonfiglio, P.A. to schedule a consultation. We serve families in Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, and Broward County.