This text of Iowa § 600.9 (Report of expenditures — penalty) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.
1.
a.A biological parent shall not receive any thing of value as a result of the biological
parent’s child or former child being placed with and adopted by another person, unless that
thing of value is an allowable expense under subsection 2.
b.Any person assisting in any way with the placement or adoption of a minor person shall
not charge a fee which is more than usual, necessary, and commensurate with the services
rendered.
c.If the biological parent receives any prohibited thing of value, if a person gives a
prohibited thing of value, or if a person charges a prohibited fee under this subsection, the
person is guilty of a serious misdemeanor.
2.
a.An adoption petitioner of a minor person shall file with the juvenile court or court,
prior to the adoption hearing, a full accounting o
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1. a. A biological parent shall not receive any thing of value as a result of the biological
parent’s child or former child being placed with and adopted by another person, unless that
thing of value is an allowable expense under subsection 2.
b. Any person assisting in any way with the placement or adoption of a minor person shall
not charge a fee which is more than usual, necessary, and commensurate with the services
rendered.
c. If the biological parent receives any prohibited thing of value, if a person gives a
prohibited thing of value, or if a person charges a prohibited fee under this subsection, the
person is guilty of a serious misdemeanor.
2. a. An adoption petitioner of a minor person shall file with the juvenile court or court,
prior to the adoption hearing, a full accounting of all disbursements of any thing of value
paid or agreed to be paid by or on behalf of the petitioner in connection with the petitioned
adoption. This accounting shall be made by a report prescribed by the juvenile court or
court and shall be signed and verified by the petitioner. The report shall be accompanied
by documentation of all disbursements made prior to the date of filing of the report. Only
expenses incurred in connection with the following and any other expenses approved by the
juvenile court or court are allowable:
(1) The birth of the minor person to be adopted.
(2) Placement of the minor person by the adoption service provider.
(3) Legal expenses related to the termination of parental rights and adoption processes.
(4) Pregnancy-relatedmedicalcarereceivedbythebiologicalparentsortheminorperson
duringthepregnancyordeliveryoftheminorpersonandformedicallynecessarypostpartum
care for the biological parent and the minor person.
(5) Ordinary and necessary living expenses of the mother including but not limited to
the costs of housing, food, utilities, and transportation for medical purposes related to the
pregnancy and birth of the child, in an amount not to exceed two thousand dollars and for
no longer than thirty days after the birth of the minor person.
(6) Costsofthecounselingprovidedtothebiologicalparentspriortothebirthofthechild,
prior to the release of custody, and any counseling provided to the biological parents for not
more than sixty days after the birth of the child.
(7) Living expenses or care of the minor person during the pendency of the termination
of parental rights proceedings.
b. All payments for allowable expenses shall be made through the adoption service
provider. An adoption service provider shall deposit all funds received from prospective
adoptive parents as payments for allowable expenses for a designated biological parent
into an escrow account established with a financial institution located in this state whose
accounts are insured by the federal deposit insurance corporation, the national credit
union administration, or the federal savings and loan insurance corporation. Such escrow
funds shall not be commingled with other revenues or expense accounts of the adoption
service provider and separate accounting shall be maintained for each prospective adoptive
parent whose funds are deposited in the escrow account. Any escrow funds not disbursed
by the adoption service provider for the benefit of the designated biological parent shall
be returned to the prospective adoptive parents with a full accounting of all deposits and
disbursements. If the adoption service provider is a licensed attorney, use of the attorney’s
state-sanctioned trust account shall satisfy the requirements relative to the escrow account
under this paragraph.
c. Any payments for allowable expenses shall not be made to a biological parent, but
insteadshallbemadedirectlytotheprovideroftheservice, product, orotheractivitytowhich
the allowable expense is attributable, if applicable.
d. The provisions of this subsection do not apply in a stepparent adoption.
3. The juvenile court or court shall review the report prior to the adoption hearing and
shall include findings regarding the allowance or disallowance of any disbursements or
projected disbursements in the adoption decree.