Section 26-10E-22 - Acceptance of placement fees prohibited; payment for maternity-concerned expenses(a) No individual, organization, group, agency, or any legal entity may accept any fee whatsoever for bringing any petitioner together with the adoptee or the parents of the adoptee.(2) A violation of this section is a Class A misdemeanor, except that a second or subsequent conviction is a Class C felony.(b)(1) The petitioner or petitioners may provide payment for maternity-connected expenses, medical or hospital expenses, and necessary living expenses of the mother preceding and during pregnancy-related incapacity, provided that the payment is not contingent upon the placement of the minor child for adoption, consent to the adoption, or cooperation in the completion of the adoption.(2) Prior to any payment pursuant to this subsection, the petitioner or petitioners must file with the court a full accounting of all charges for expenses, fees, or services they or individuals acting on their behalf will be paying relating to the adoption. Payment may be made only with court approval except that fees may be placed in an escrow account prior to court approval. The court may not refuse to approve a fee for documented services on the sole basis that a prospective adoptee has not been placed. The court shall approve all reasonable fees and expenses unless determined by the court to be unreasonable based upon specific written findings of fact.(c) Unless otherwise provided in this chapter, the petitioner or petitioners must also file a sworn statement that is a full accounting of all disbursements paid in the adoption.(d) Under penalty of perjury, the adoptive parents and the parent or parents surrendering the adoptee for adoption, prior to the entry of the final judgment of adoption, shall sign affidavits stating that no monies or other things of value have been paid or received in exchange for the consent or relinquishment of the minor for adoption. In addition to any penalties for perjury, the payment or receipt of money in violation of this section shall be punished as set forth in Section 26-10E-33.Ala. Code § 26-10E-22 (1975)
Added by Act 2023-92,§ 1, eff. 1/1/2024.