Family Formation

This is the most friendly and professional law office I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with! They completed a step-​parent adoption for our family and they handled every single detail from beginning to end. Thank you for helping our dreams come true!!!

I cannot recommend Megan and the Family Formation team enough! Megan helped us with all the legal aspects of our surrogacy journey: reviewing our contract with the egg donor agency, drafting the ovum donation contract, reviewing our contract with the surrogate agency, drafting the surrogate contact, and obtaining the parental court order.
Megan was truly amazing throughout!
Her prices are very reasonable (much cheaper than other attorneys we’ve talked to), but more importantly, we found Megan to be both sharp and knowledgable, and warm and patient. A truly rare combination.
As we were new to the surrogacy process, my partner and I had a lot of questions (and I mean A LOT!!), and Megan always explained things patiently and addressed all our concerns. It was clear from day one that she was extremely knowledgable, and we quickly came to rely on her experience and advise. She never shied away from pointing out subtle points that have not yet been tested in court and made sure we understand exactly what we’re committing to when signing the different contracts.
She always followed up quickly and didn’t let things drag on.
When at some point we ran into issues with our surrogate, Megan provided great advise in how to handle the situation, and help us make sure things didn’t escalate.
I cannot imagine a better partner for our long journey than Megan — sharp, experienced, warm, and highly professional!

Megan and her team are amazing! They helped my husband and I complete the adoption of our daughter. They were helpful during the entire process, There was never a question they could not answer and always eased my mind when I was nervous. I highly recommend Megan and her team!

Megan and Family Formation helped us with the legal side of our surrogacy. From the very start, they were fantastic; communication was great, everything was prompt and on time, and Megan gave us a lot of great advice. Everything went smoothly, even though we were in New York. Our surrogate received all her paperwork on a timely schedule, as did the filing of our parental action, so we never even worried about getting paperwork to the hospital on time. The coordination of the whole process was amazing, we will definitely work with Family Formation again in the future.

My heart is so happy right now it could burst right now. I have waited 4 long years and my twin daughters are due in a few days. I started thinking about all of the people that made this happen and how wonderful my experience was and I can not recommend Family Formation more. The team there takes care of everything and everyone. They are always there to answer questions, you feel safe, and you feel taken care of from a-​z. There is a bit of magic to their screening process (I used a surrogate and she is like family to me now) and they knew from day one that we would feel this way in the end!

How can you say anything negative about the team that helped us bring home our little girl?
After our second round of failed IVF (on my 30^th birthday), my husband and I decided that we would try one more time. If it didn’t work, we would choose adoption. Well, it didn’t work…
We were initially hesitant on the idea of an open adoption because we couldn’t see ourselves «sharing» our child with another set of parents, her birth parents, but Megan put our minds at ease.
We interviewed four adoption agencies and two adoption law firms. Our first call with Megan told us what we needed to know. Megan definitely knows her stuff and she is very straight to the point. (The other adoption law firm had us sit on a two-​hour call for the first meeting and all that was going through my head is, no wonder law firms charge by the hour!) My husband and I knew after our first call that we wanted to work with Megan and her team.
So why did we choose Megan?
1. She is a birth mother herself. This is HUGE! Our daughter was born out-​of-​state so we ended up having to work with an adoption agency in California as well as an adoption agency in Texas. The mother of our daughter did not feel comfortable talking to either agency, and preferred having everything go through Megan because Megan went through it herself. They were able to have that bond and it eased our minds knowing that our daughter’s mother had someone to really confide in.
2. She is to the point. She’s not going to sit there and tell you that you’re going to bring a baby home in a couple months, because that’s not the case. She is realistic in her promises and lays out the steps of the adoption process and any potentials for slow-​downs.
3. She is accessible. Once you are matched with a birth mother and baby, she is very involved in the process and is there to answer any question you have. (The only negative I would have looking back on the process was that prior to our match, there was little communication and we sometimes felt out of the loop.)
From the time we first met with Megan, until the time we brought our baby girl home, it was only 9 months! We first spoke to our daughter’s mother when she was 6 months pregnant and met her in person when she was 7 ½ months pregnant. We were at the hospital four hours after our daughter was born. Megan coached us through every nerve-​wracking situation we encountered. You can not go wrong with choosing Family Formation for your adoption.
I couldn’t imagine my life without my daughter. Megan and her team are true miracle-​makers!

We have been signed up with Family Formation for two month in the past before we switched to another surrogacy agency. So this review is only for their initial process.
The impression we had was that they are a great agency with very friendly, supportive and professional staff. It seemed to us that they take on only a small amount of participants in order to give them individualized guidance, which is nice.
Our decision to move on after such a short time was largely based on the availability of profiles at this moment (1). As well we would have wished at times more transparency on the program and its participants, especially before signing up.
The agency we switched to had more availability, the transparency seemed greater and we were extremely lucky to find «our» match right away.

My husband and I highly recommend Megan and her team at Family Formation. We had struggled with infertility for about 3 years before we signed up with the county fost to adopt program. After going through their process and classes we felt we would be waiting forever as we only got presented wIth one situation in about 1.5 years! And it was a complete risk which we just could not take on. So after talking with waiting families at larger adoption agencies being 1 of 100 profiles presented just wasn’t for us.
We liked the fact that Megan does not take on over (12?) families at a time. She really gets to know you and the birth parents to understand who may be a good match. She’s a birth mom herself so she really gets what birth parents are going through and makes sure it is the right decision for them. We really connected with Megan who kept us calm in a very emotional roller coaster of a process. She was always there to listen and help and walk us through the process. We got matched quickly.
Now we have a beautiful baby boy, 11 weeks today, and our dream of a family has come true. We couldn’t love this little guy more, and we thank Megan for her help in making this happen.
We would and may use her services again in the future.

We HIGHLY recommend Family Formation. Before working with Megan and the Family Formation team, we were signed up with another adoption agency (for 18 months) and received very little communication from the staff and no matches with birthmothers. Family Formation provided us a complete opposite experience. After signing they guided us from the beginning starting with our profile pamphlet ensuring we communicated our story. A couple of months later, we were matched. Megan set-​up realistic expectations as we journeyed with the BM through her last 2 months of pregnancy. It was a trying and emotional experience that Megan and team were there for us and the birth mom every step of the way. Because of Family Formation, we found the baby meant for us and could not imagine life any differently.

So you know you want to adopt, now what do you do?
This is the question my husband and I asked ourselves 3 ½ years ago. We spoke with a friend who had adopted through IAC, and so we decided to go with them. They are a large agency who has hundreds of adoptive parents. They function like a dating site — your profile is online and birthmothers are free to contact you directly. We, like many others who were with IAC, had the «pleasure» of enduring a failed adoption of a little boy in LA. We spent 8 days there for his birth, with little support from the young staff at IAC. On the last day the birthparents said they had decided to keep the baby and we left. It was a terrible, terrible roller coaster that left us devastated. This particular family was not ready to give up their baby for adoption, and we were not their destined adoptive family. This is NOT what happens at Family Formation.
Adopting through Family Formation is like working with a fabulously experienced matchmaker. Megan and her team will find you YOUR baby, and will thoroughly talk with, guide and counsel birthmothers before introducing you to them. This ensures the best chance of success, because you are presented with a birthmother who knows adoption is the right choice for them and their baby. They are not simply exploring the idea, and taking you along for the emotional roller coaster ride with them — which is what happens often with large agencies.
Once you are matched and the baby has been born and is gently cooing in your home, Megan and Family Formation will also play another important role — counseling and supporting the birthmother, who has just experienced a tremendous loss. As an adoptive mother, this has perhaps been the hardest part for me — knowing how much the birthmother suffers over her decision. She knows it’s what she wants in her heart of hearts, but it’s still very painful to lose a baby. I imagine there are a few who don’t feel such a great loss, but I suspect most do. Our birthmother specifically told me she didn’t feel she would have been able to get through the pan of it without Megan’s constant support and guidance. Megan is a birthmother, she understands and empathizes with them, and she is an exceptional counselor to them, as well as to the birthparents.
When you sign with Family Formation, you sign an 18 month contract. I asked them why and they said it was because they match everyone within 18 months. And I believe them 100%. We will work with them again, hands down, if we decide to go the adoption route for our 2^nd.

How can I ever write enough good things about Megan and Family Formation? My partner and I were in the adoption process for five years with little luck, at a nearby adoption agency. Family Formation was recommended to us, and we made an appointment, met Megan, and started the process with them. What a difference! WIthin a year we were blessed with an adorable baby girl, all helped by Family Formation. Throughout the process they treated us with the utmost respect, with a dedication towards making the entire adoption process positive and supportive for both the birthmother and for us, the adoptive parents. They were exceptional. We can not recommend Megan or Family Formation enough. And our appreciation will last a lifetime every time we look at our beautiful daughter.

We absolutely loved our experience with Family Formation and can never thank them enough for matching us with our beautiful baby daughter! Megan and the entire team were incredibly professional and supportive throughout the entire process, and clearly communicated everything we should expect. They were always available and gracious in answering our questions as first time adoptive parents, and they gave us excellent advice in compiling our profile and other details in preparation for adoption. They also continue to be available and supportive even 6 months post adoption. The team at Family Formation has extensive experience with adoption both professionally and personally, and they were able to share from both sides of their experiences. After an emotional process of trying to start a family, we would strongly recommend Family Formation to anyone interested in adoption! We have already recommended them to several friends and would most definitely use them again in the future.

I consider myself an «adoption expert» being part of 2 open adoptions myself and helping countless other familes. I read the bad review from Chris B and can honestly say that was never my experience with Megan or the group that supports them. If you need proof… this is all I can offer — We have a 10 month old son that we adopted across state lines that has been finalized well above the scheduled timeline, within the cost estimate and with NO ONE SINGLE bump in the road. It works and Megan worked hard for us.

I could never express the amount of gratitude I feel for Megan and her team through a Unilocal post… but I will try.
My husband and I struggled with infertility for about 13 years. We came to a decision that it really didn’t matter to us if we had a baby biologically or if we adopted, we just wanted to be parents. Like infertility, adoption is not an easy process, we knew that when we started. We had researched several different adoption agencies and attorneys and decided that Family Formation was the very best fit for us… we loved them all the minute we met them.
Though the entire process, Megan was our rock. She shared in the the ups, downs and then the ultimate high when we brought home our baby boy this past December. I hope to keep in touch with Megan throughout our son’s life… without her we would not have him. We are happier than we have ever been and so in love with our little guy… it’s like he was meant to be ours the entire time.
There are so many great things to say about the entire team at Family Formation; they educated us, advised us, walked us through the process step by step (probably several times) and they never got frustrated or annoyed with our questions… they are just GREAT!
If you are considering adoption, I highly recommend meeting with this team. I don’t think you could find anyone better to guide and support you along the way.

My name is Meagan and I am a 21 year old birth mother. I found out I was pregnant when I was 21 weeks. I freaked out and didn’t know what I was going to do. I found Family Formation through a family friend who’s son’s birth mother had used Family Formation. I first talked to Megan Cohen on the phone who was absolutely amazing. She eased my mind about the adoption process and held my hand every single step of the way.
Megan sent me two families within a couple of days, and I felt in my gut that one of them was the right fit for me without even meeting them. That’s how amazing Megan is at her job.
I couldn’t be happier with the service I got and continue to get from Family Formation. I have formed an intense bond with Megan. She has also helped me connect with other birth moms around my age and in my area so I have formed a community of young women who know what I am going through. Adoption isn’t an easy choice, but Family Formation helped me to be strong. I am so incredibly thankful and grateful for their ongoing services to help me and my beautiful daughter and her family.