Adopting a child has both excitement and fear involved. Bringing a new son or daughter into your family can change your life for the better. But before that, when you’re looking at adoption options, some choices need to be made, namely whether you should go through an agency or try an independent adoption.

What is an independent adoption?
Most adoptions go through agencies or foster care centers. With agencies, the most common form of adoption, you sign up and are put on a waiting list. Independent adoptions, on the other hand, forgo the process of being put on a waiting list and speaking with an agency. You go directly to the birth mother in an independent adoption. There are no special fees nor time for waiting. If all goes well and you follow the laws, you may even have a child within a year.  Let’s go over these advantages and others in more detail.

Adoption Success
Sometimes the legal process for adoption can be quite complex. Well, it’s for the good of a child, but if you wait years for a child, and then it stops right in middle of the process, it can be really disheartening. This happens all too often: a parent backs out, there are legal issues, or a variety of other problems cause the adoption process to stop. And if you are practically promised a child then lose the chance, that’s even worse.

Direct with Parent
The adoptive parents, that’s you, can go directly to the birth mother instead of through an agency. You can both decide for yourself whether this is a good idea. You have nothing to lose and can get to know the birth parent and see the child. If there are problems such as with finances, you can speak clearly. If it looks like it won’t work out, you can find out much faster.

Long Waiting Lists
Adoption agencies rarely help you adopt a child in a year or less. With independent adoption, you can cut the time for the process in half if not more. Waiting years for a child may not be acceptable. You also have a better chance of getting the child. Because of the complex rules each agency has, sometimes you can be disqualified from adopting.

Fees
Agency adoptions can be pricy. You can save money with an independent adoption. You need not pay the agency, which can save you thousands. You should still consider an adoption lawyer, and you may have to pay some of the mother’s expenses, but at the end of the day you almost always save money.

Disadvantages of Independent Adoption
There are some downsides to independent adoption. First, understand your state laws: many have strict regulations on how independent adoptions can be done. You may, for example, find laws against posting an ad looking to adopt a child. One more concern is that this process is, oddly enough, too fast. You make a decision in such a short amount of time that you may not think it through.

In any case, independent adoptions are an important option on the table. You should always have legal representation, no matter if you go through an agency, independent adoption, or other form of adoption.