Art. 1200. Fee disclosure; permissible reimbursement of expenses; court review; report

A. The petitioner shall file with the petition a current estimate and accounting of fees and charges in accordance with Article 1201. The petitioner also shall file a final adoption disclosure affidavit with the court not later than ten days prior to the date scheduled for the final hearing on the adoption.

B. Only the following services provided by the Department of Children and Family Services, or payments made through a licensed adoption agency, or an adoption attorney are permissible and not a violation of R.S. 14:286:

(1) Actual medical expenses, including hospital, testing, nursing, pharmaceutical, travel, or other similar expenses, incurred by the biological mother for prenatal care and those medical expenses incurred by the biological mother and child incident to birth.

(2) Actual medical expenses, including hospital, testing, nursing, pharmaceutical, travel, or other similar expenses, and foster care expenses incurred on behalf of the child prior to the decree of adoption.

(3) Actual expenses incurred by the department or the agency for counseling and training services provided to the adoptive parents and for home studies or investigations.

(4) Actual and reasonable administrative expenses incurred by the department or the agency, including overhead, court costs, travel costs, and attorney fees connected with an adoption. In approving a fee for overhead, the court shall consider and include additional expenses incurred by the department or the agency not specifically allocated to the adoption before the court including the cost of failed adoptions, where those expenses or fees represent actual costs of the department's or agency's adoption services permitted by the provisions of this Article.

(5) Actual expenses incurred for counseling services provided to a biological parent or a child for a reasonable time before and after the child's placement for adoption.

(6) Actual expenses incurred in ascertaining the information required by Articles 1124 and 1125.

(7) Actual and reasonable living expenses needed to maintain an adequate standard of living that the mother is unable to maintain otherwise due to lost wages for a period when she is unable to work.

(a) Living expenses in accordance with this Subparagraph may be paid for a reasonable time before the birth of her child and for no more than forty-five days after the birth and may include the following:

(i) Temporary housing expenses, such as rent or mortgage payments.

(ii) Utilities, such as electricity, gas, water, or telephone.

(iii) Food for the mother and any minor children residing in her home.

(iv) Transportation costs related to the pregnancy or adoption.

(v) Maternity clothing for the mother.

(vi) Personal hygiene products, cleaning products, and laundry services.

(b) Actual living expenses shall not include vehicles, salary or wages, recreation or leisure activities, permanent housing, gifts, or other payments for the monetary gain of the mother.

(c) The total and cumulative amount of living expenses paid to the biological mother during the term of the pregnancy by one or more agencies or attorneys under the provisions of this Article shall not exceed seven thousand five hundred dollars, except as otherwise specifically authorized in accordance with Subparagraph (9) of this Paragraph.

(8) Actual and reasonable attorney fees, court costs, travel, or other expenses incurred on behalf of a parent who surrenders a child for adoption or otherwise consents to the child's adoption.

(9) Any additional expense authorized by order of the court prior to payment upon a specific finding that the expense is reasonable and necessary.

C. The payment of expenses permitted by Paragraph B of this Article may not be made contingent on the placement of a child for adoption, relinquishment of the child, or consent to the adoption, and the prospective adoptive parent shall have no right to seek reimbursement of any payments solely on the basis of the mother's decision not to place the child for adoption. However, the prospective adoptive parent may seek reimbursement of payments made pursuant to Paragraph B of this Article from a mother or any other person, agency, or attorney who accepts such payments if the person accepting payment knows that the mother on whose behalf payment is accepted is not pregnant at the time of the receipt of payments or that the mother is accepting payments concurrently from more than one prospective adoptive parent without the knowledge of the prospective adoptive parent who is seeking reimbursement.

D. Adoptive parents shall pay to the department any of the expenses listed in Paragraph B of this Article which may be imposed by the department. Such payments shall be imposed solely at the discretion of the department. The department shall not include payment of the expenses listed in Paragraph B of this Article as a requirement for adoption.

E. If a court determines from an accounting that an amount that is going to be or has been disbursed for expenses listed in Paragraph B of this Article is unreasonable, it may order a reduction in the amount to be disbursed and order the person who received the disbursement to refund that portion.

F. If a court determines from an accounting that an amount is going to be or has been disbursed for expenses not permitted by Paragraph B of this Article, it may:

(1) Issue an injunction prohibiting the disbursement or order the person who received the disbursement to refund it.

(2) Refer the case to the district attorney for the consideration of criminal charges pursuant to R.S. 14:286.

(3) Refuse to approve the adoption, if in the best interest of the child.

G. The court shall not issue a final decree of adoption until it has reviewed and approved the final accounting.

H. A copy of the adoption disclosure affidavit and all orders of the court pursuant to this Article shall be mailed to the Department of Children and Family Services.

Acts 1991, No. 235, §12, eff. Jan. 1, 1992; Acts 1999, No. 1062, §4, eff. Jan. 1, 2000; Acts 2018, No. 562, §1.