New Hampshire Revised Statutes 170-B:13 – Payment of Birth Parent Expenses; Penalty
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I. In any adoption of an unrelated minor child under this chapter, an intended adoptive parent or anyone acting in concert with, at the direction of, or on behalf of an intended adoptive parent shall pay only the following expenses of the birth parent:
(a) Reasonable counseling, medical, and legal fees, which shall be paid by the party responsible for payment to the provider of the service.
(b) Reasonable expenses for transportation, meals, clothing, and lodging incurred for placement of the minor child.
(c) Reasonable expenses for adoption services provided by an agency at the request of the birth parent, which shall be paid directly to the agency.
(d) Reasonable living expenses of the birth mother which are necessary to maintain an adequate standard of living, which the birth mother is unable to otherwise maintain because of loss of income or other support resulting from the pregnancy and lost wages resulting from the pregnancy or delivery. Payments may cover expenses incurred during the pregnancy-related incapacity, but not for a period longer than 6 weeks following delivery. Reasonable living expenses shall not include gifts in excess of $50, educational expenses, or other payments for the monetary gain of the birth parent.
II. A contract purporting to require a birth parent to reimburse an intended adoptive parent for such payments under any circumstances, including circumstances in which a birth parent refuses to surrender his or her parental rights or withdraws said surrender, is void as against public policy.
III. Violations of this section shall not affect the force or effect of an adoption decree issued pursuant to this chapter; specifically, it shall not be grounds for the finding of fraud or duress affecting the validity of a surrender that an adoptive parent paid or refused to pay expenses or other money or things of value not allowed by this section.
IV. The court may issue appropriate orders to enforce this section, including orders for reimbursement.
(a) Reasonable counseling, medical, and legal fees, which shall be paid by the party responsible for payment to the provider of the service.
Terms Used In New Hampshire Revised Statutes 170-B:13
- Agency: means any person licensed by existing law to place minors for adoption. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 170-B:2
- Birth mother: means a woman who gestates an embryo conceived by natural or artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization, or preembryo transfer, or becomes a parent pursuant to N. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 170-B:2
- Child: means a son or daughter, whether by birth or by adoption. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 170-B:2
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Court: means probate court. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 170-B:2
- following: when used by way of reference to any section of these laws, shall mean the section next preceding or following that in which such reference is made, unless some other is expressly designated. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 21:13
- Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
- Minor: or "minor child" means any individual under the age of 18. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 170-B:2
- minor child: means any individual under the age of 18. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 170-B:2
- Parent: means mother, birth father, legal father, or adoptive parent, but such term shall not include a parent as to whom the parent-child relationship has been terminated by judicial decree or voluntarily surrender. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 170-B:2
- Surrender: means the release of all parental rights, including but not limited to care, custody, and control of the child, by a parent, legal guardian, or agency. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 170-B:2
(b) Reasonable expenses for transportation, meals, clothing, and lodging incurred for placement of the minor child.
(c) Reasonable expenses for adoption services provided by an agency at the request of the birth parent, which shall be paid directly to the agency.
(d) Reasonable living expenses of the birth mother which are necessary to maintain an adequate standard of living, which the birth mother is unable to otherwise maintain because of loss of income or other support resulting from the pregnancy and lost wages resulting from the pregnancy or delivery. Payments may cover expenses incurred during the pregnancy-related incapacity, but not for a period longer than 6 weeks following delivery. Reasonable living expenses shall not include gifts in excess of $50, educational expenses, or other payments for the monetary gain of the birth parent.
II. A contract purporting to require a birth parent to reimburse an intended adoptive parent for such payments under any circumstances, including circumstances in which a birth parent refuses to surrender his or her parental rights or withdraws said surrender, is void as against public policy.
III. Violations of this section shall not affect the force or effect of an adoption decree issued pursuant to this chapter; specifically, it shall not be grounds for the finding of fraud or duress affecting the validity of a surrender that an adoptive parent paid or refused to pay expenses or other money or things of value not allowed by this section.
IV. The court may issue appropriate orders to enforce this section, including orders for reimbursement.