Adoption & Assisted Reproduction Blog Posts

Penalty-Free Retirement Withdrawal To Grow Your Family Adoption Or Assisted Reproduction

Posted Jan 16, 2020

By Washington State Family Law Lawyer Dimitra S. Scott

The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE Act), which was signed into law on December 20, 2019, represents a significant overhaul of retirement rules in more than a decade. Among many important changes, the SECURE Act allows you to use retirement savings to start or grow your family!

The SECURE Act allows for penalty-free withdrawals from your retirement account, up to $5,000 per parent, within a year of your child’s birth or your adoption of a child into your family.   This change allows you to avoid the 10% penalty typically assessed on early retirement...Read More

Update to Washington State’s Uniform Parentage Act of 2017

Posted Dec 19, 2019

By Washington State Family Law Lawyer Dimitra S. Scott
Washington was the first state to enact the new Parentage Act in 2018, based on the 2017 Uniform Parentage Act.   This update to the Parentage Act addresses issues related to same-sex couples, surrogacy, the right of a child to genetic information, de facto parentage, and parentage of children conceived through sexual assault.   
Perhaps the most noteworthy update relates to surrogacy.  Surrogacy has long been permitted in Washington state, but payment of a fee to the surrogate had been a crime.  Under the new Parentage Act, surrogate mothers may be compensated.  Families who reside...Read More

Adoption Tax Credit For 2020

Posted Dec 16, 2019

By Washington State Family Law Lawyer Dimitra S. Scott

The IRS published the Adoption Tax Credit figures and adjustments for 2020.  The new maximum dollar amount allowed for the tax credit tax in 2020 is $14,300 per child (it was $14,080 in 2019).  The Adoption Tax Credit begins to phase out for those families whose modified adjusted gross income exceeds $214,520, and phases out completely for families with modified adjusted gross income of $254,520 or more (so no tax credit benefit is allowed for families with a modified adjusted gross income above $254,520 for 2020).

The adoption of a “special needs” child...Read More

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