Do you have to be rich to adopt a child?

Question

How expensive is adoption? Which is harder, having your own child or adopting a child?

Answer 1

them min price of adopting a child in the US, is 10,000

Answer 2

I was adopted as an infant.  My "adopted" parents are my parents.  

And it did not "eventually bring all sorts of problems into the house."

Answer 3

Fist of all, let me correct you, since you have not adopted yet!  Adopting a child is having a child of YOUR OWN!  (Not that children really "belong" to any of us!  :  )

And to answer your question -- adoption can be almost free (but raising a child sure isn't!) to being very expensive -- just like having a child biologically.

A woman might have no prenatal care and deliver in  the ambulance on the way to a county hospital.  Cost:  0.

Or, a woman might try many times to get pregnant, take meds, have surgeries, spend her life's savings going to fertility specialists, have a baby who requires special medical care it's whole life.  Cost:  Can be 100,000's of thousands of dollars.

Same with adoptions, although it never goes that high!

Someone may go through their state or county agencies, and pay next to nothing.  We have over 500,000 children in foster care in the U. S. !

Or, someone can try independent adoption and have it fail and then try again and have it succeed.  Cost:  easily $50,000.  

So.....there it is.  And everything in between.   I hope this helps!

Answer 4

i think its more expensive adopting a child.

Answer 5

It can be very inexpensive to adopt or very expensive depending on the route you take.  

If you adopt from the foster system, it can be virtually without fees and costs (most states reimburse out of pocket expenses).  If you're waiting for a healthy, white infant, the wait will be long.  If you're open to older, siblings, special needs, different race, etc. your wait will be shorter.

If you adopt privately domestically, the expenses can be great or relatively small depending on how you go about it. You will, however, have to pay for homestudies, etc.  You can go through an agency or an attorney to do this type of adoption.

If you adopt internationally, you can expect fees of anywhere from $5,000 to over $30,000.

Keep in mind that there is a tax credit available from the federal government (go to http://www.irs.gov and search for adoption tax credit to research this, but it's over $10,000, or your cost if it's less than that per adoption).  Many states have tax credits as well. Some employers have adoption benefits to help you with expenses.  There are also some grants available (Google the Dave Thomas Foundation for a listing of some grants).  You can also do fund raising of many kinds to help finance adoption.

Whether adopting or having a biological child is harder depends on your circumstances.  We had no problem getting pregnant with our two biological sons, but had my tubes tied later...so biological children weren't an option.  We adopted two girls internationally & the process was long and expensive, but not really terribly difficult.  A good agency will walk you through the process.

Answer 6

I would talk to social services in your area about foster care to adoption.  It is relatively inexpensive if not free.  The state will even pay you while the child is in foster care with you.  It can be very rewarding, but also very challenging.  You don't have to be rich to provide a good steady home to a child.

Answer 7

Adoption cost depends on where you are adopting from and agency if you are using one and so forth. Generally though, they can get really expensive especially international adoptions. Generally, local adoptions are cheaper, but still costly unless you are adopting a child through foster care and then the only BIG cost is that you might not get your child and the pain that causes that child to be taken to yet another home because the parents wouldn't sign over custody and their rights weren't terminated by the court yet because they still have a chance to turn around and be parents. Generally, to get an adoption through fostercare, you can do it for as little as $700 in some places.

Having your own children is easier in the sense of there's no one telling you that you have to pass a rigid test to make sure you would be a fit and safe parent. There's no fear of a parent changing their mind and wanting the child back later and putting your family through h**l. There's no law saying you can't have your own baby even if you are flat broke so it's definitely easier to have your own....that being said, there is something to be said for someone who has a heart big enough to reach out and take in and raise a child who needs parents, but for whatever reason doesn't have any.

Answer 8

No, you do not have to be rich to adopt a child; however, if you have enough money then you have more choices because paying for the prenatal care and delivery of a baby you want to adopt and paying professionals like social workers to help you through the adoption maze takes money. Generally speaking, the more expensive adoptions are domestic adoptions that do not involve the foster care system and/or special needs children and that are not kinship adoptions AND certain international adoptions (depends upon which country). The least expensive adoptions are through the domestic foster care system of the country where you legally reside and kinship adoption. In the USA, there is a tax deduction that can be made when you adopt to offset up to 10K of the expenses incurred.

I would not classify either (having one's own child or adopting a chid) as more difficult or easier than the other. The costs of having a child vary depending upon the need for fertility treatments, the amount of health insurance coverage to cover the costs of prenatal care and delivery/birth, any complications in the delivery/birth, and any special health needs of the child after being born. Having one's own child is not an option for some people, so they choose to adopt. There are many other reasons for adoption and some who choose adoption over having one's own child might be single, might not want to contribute to the over-population of the world, or might carry a gene for a debilitating disease.

The requirements for adoption vary by your locality and country where you legally reside. Other sources of information include: licensed MSW or Ph.D. social workers, adoption attorneys, the US State Department, the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, licensed adoption agencies, and adoption support groups.

Answer 9

i know it can be costly when going through state or international adoption....i looked briefly into adopting a baby girl from china until i looked at the cost....ranges (on th site i was on) go from about 15,000 - 35000.00. this is generally over a 2 year period.

i adopted my son 6 years ago. the entire legal process cost me 500.00 only because it was a family adoption. my cousin gave him up to me. now this was in indiana so i don't know if that's average for an adoption like mine or not.

it's hard to have children no matter how you come about being a parent....although when we started the adoption process they had to know EVERYTHING about you...

how do you feel about religion?

will you spank the child...if yes for what reasons (and to all of you who think spanking is a terrible thing....my answer was YES and my reasons were acceptable...i have my son)

but you get the point...we even had to write a letter to the court (each of us) telling them our story of how we met.....why we got married...why we wanted to adopt this child...i could go on forever.

they do a home study ......they come and check out your home environment and trust me they look at everything

to some degree i guess adoption would be harder in the emotional sense during the whole process.....if they don't like what they see you don't get the baby but, any idiot off the street can have a baby.

p.s. i also have 2 other children i gave birth to

Answer 10

No, you don't have to be rich, most states have children listed for adoption, and many have little or no cost fees for the paper work.  A private adoption on the the hand. can be expensive, cost of the agency fee , lawyer, medical for mother and child, sometimes your medical insurance will pay some cost, some agencies also have rates based on your income.  I hope this helps.

Answer 11

No!  But, it depends on how you want to adopt and what ages and races that you are willing to adopt.

It's a sad truth, but if you are trying to adopt a white, healthy infant, it's brutally competitive and can be expensive.  If you are willing to adopt an older child, and/or a minority, or are willing to take on some special needs you can do it fairly quickly with less money.  Some international adoption programs are VERY secure, the costs are known up front, and almost always end happily.  

When you are figuring the costs, don't forget about the tax credits.  They are almost $11,000!  These can offset your expenses considerably.

Good luck to you.

Answer 12

If anyone can have kids of their own in a stable environment with marriage then they would be crazy to adopt as it will eventually bring all sorts of problems into the house.

Answer 13

no u do not have to be rich but u do have to have at least 20,000 dollars or maore to adopt a child

Answer 14

either way it is expensive.

i would prefer to have my own child.

they dont have to go through the pain of never knowing there actual parents.

it is semi expensive and is a LONG process.

Answer 15

there are no HAVE-TO'S unless its something the birth parents WANT or DON'T WANT. i was adopted... in MOST cases adoption is selected because of money issues in the first place... MY MOTHER gave me up because she wanted me to live a better life.... than if i was with her... i would have nothing.

Answer 16

you could always do a fostadopt program.  those kids need homes as they have been hurt or neglected.  you foster and then possibly can adopt if the courts say they need a home.  not expensive.  

we have two kids and of course they cost money but we have never noticed the change.  i still stay home and my husband actually took a pay cut so he could be home more and we survive.  what's money when it comes to something as rewarding as this.  if everyone waited to have kids until they could afford it, no one would have them.

Answer 17

If you are willing to adopt a child from foster care, through the county, you will get paid for all the adoption expenses, plus living expenses & health care for the child through age 18.  That's because a federal law, AAP, Aid to Adoptive Placement.

Otherwise, it's like twenty to fifty thousand dollars.

Adopting is harder.