Adopt us kids question about $$?

Question

ok so it says that most adoptions are free. but you need an attoney and those i know cost money. does anyone know about how much it cost all together for adopting a child or children?

Answer 1

You do not adopt from AdoptUSKids.  That site is just a photolisting of children that are within the foster care system in the United States.

What you will do is contact your local Department of Social Services (or the like agency in your area).  They will do your homestudy and guide you through the process.  You should not need an attorney.

Adopting through the foster care system is low cost-sometimes it costs nothing and if there are upfront costs, which would be minimal, you can get it back through a tax credit.  Your caseworker will provide you with more information on all of that as well.

I hope this helps, and I wish you the best!

EDITED TO ADD: I think that some states require someone to be atleast 25 to adopt, though there are exceptions.  Again, contact DSS.  They will answer your questions for free, and you will know you are getting correct information!  The most important thing is not age, but stability...

Answer 2

Not all children listed on adoptuskids are free. I thought that at first too. My daughter was posted there but was not a state ward. It was a private adoption situation. Some agencies can use that site to find homes for children they have. Not many agencies keep files on hand with families waiting for older children so when parents come to place their older children, agencies can network to adoptuskids.com. It gets a lot of views and is a great resource. The agency that placed my daughter with me charged $3500 for our adoption fee's and the attorney was $1020. Add the homestudies ($1700) post placements ($750) and travel and it was around $8,000 for our adoption from adoptuskids.

On another note, most of the adoptions are throught the state. If you need an attorney or travel money, a lot of that can be reimbursed by the state you are adopting from. They offer one time payments for (I believe) up to $2500. Good luck out there....its a rough road. Don't give up though.

Answer 3

Of course it depends... Usually $20,000-$100,000

I know it's extremely broad, but it does depend on where the child comes from (US or overseas - if overseas, where???)

Plus attorney fees are at least $10,000

Answer 4

Well, I know you may not believe it but our last adoption was free.  100%, no cost to us at all...free.  We went through our local Foster to Adopt program with Social Services, were given the opportunity to bring home a 4 day old from the hospital and we cared for her till the paperwork was done.  Other then having the case worker stop by to get us to sign some forms (other then their regular visits) we did nothing else until we received a call from the case worker one morning telling us that the day before the Judge had signed off on the papers and the adoption was done.  We didn't need a lawyer, it was all done on our behalf by Social Services.  

Now, private adoptions can be pricey.  I asked a lawyer one time and she said that she asks for a $5000 retainer and once that is done the costs mount.  She said that on average, with an uncontested adoption, she normally ends up charging between $9-13 k.

Our "international adoption" was rather unique in that we temporarily lived in the country we were adopting from (for 3 years).  In country, it cost us about $800 US to get formal Guardienship and then once we got back home I started scouting around for a lawyer to do the rest.  Most wanted ridiculous fees so I contacted an adoption agency to see if they could recommend a lawyer that was any cheaper.  In the end, the social worker for the agency ended up drawing up and filing the papers for us.  By the time it was done it cost about $450 for her to do it.  

I wouldn't recommend it but the fact remains if you know what paperwork and forms to file you can do it yourself.

Answer 5

Dear nothing in life is free

Answer 6

adopting from social services is supposed to be free. we were discouraged from getting a lawyer (by a relative who is one) because of this. We may get one anyway if it means we can finalize without traveling again.

Answer 7

from adoptuskids.com??

it is free...but you must be a registered/liscensed adoptive home. You must contact DSS/CPS to start the process....and they will provide the lawyer/provide you with money for the lawyer when the time comes.

<<adoptive mommy through foster care.

EDIT: MrsMomma: hehe....Very true....It costs nothing to complete the process of adopting these children. Once you are a parent, however, all bets are off.

EDIT: depends on your state....some are 18 years and some are 21. It will look better if you are at least 21, especially if it is an older child or a sibling group.