I am looking for tips on how to finance an adoption.?

Question

I am military and I know that the military will reimburse me so much money back, but the fees are so outrageous. I want to adopt because for a couple of years, my mother received assistance for me and I want to give back by adopting. I am really going to need to some help to finance the adoption. I think that it is crazy to pay for a child in need, but I want to do whatever I can to help. There are too many children who don't have anyone to allow money to be such an issue. Please help me!!

Answer 1

There are a lot of ways to help finance an adoption, and don't forget there is an adoption tax credit that  you can also take at the end of the year once an adoption is finalized.  

Here is a great resource on financing adoptions: http://costs.adoption.com/articles/raisi...

Good Luck!

Answer 2

Great!  I have good news -- You do not have to pay any adoption fees to adopt a "child in need"!  The children who NEED to be adopted are those who are older, in state custody due to neglect or abuse.  

All the infants who are available for adoption are not in need -- there are thousands of approved families waiting to adopt them.   There are many approved adoptive parents for ANY newborn or young child up to age 5.  This includes special needs babies, infants who are deaf, have Down Syndrome, and even HIV+.

You have an opportunity to truly "give back" as you say.....by adopting an older child who is waiting in the foster care system.  We have over 500,000 children in the U. S. system right now.  This is truly where the need is!  These children have emotional, physical and medical needs, or, they are part of a sibling group.  There are children of all races, and in every state system.  You can read about them by going online to any state's Photolisting of children in state care.  Here is a website:

http://adoption.about.com/od/adoptingbys...

Good luck with the process!!!

Answer 3

There are a lot of ways to help you...

Consider adopting from the foster system.  It is typically free.

Look into financing options.  One site is http://www.AdoptionFinancingInformation....   They have a loan, grant info, and more.

Research the tax credit.  It's over $10,000!

If you are African American, there are options out there.  Check out http://www.AAAdoptions.com for grant information.

See if you can get your Home Study through the military.  See if your JAG officer is familiar with helping with the legal aspect.

Don't give up!!  

Best of luck to you!

Answer 4

If your wife works have her speak to her human resources department.  Companies often offer financial assistance as a benefit with adoptions.

Answer 5

First, contact several reputable agencies, you will find that the fees they charge are on a scale based on your income. You may be at the lower side of the bracket, but since the military will reimburse you, you may not be.

I would consider fostering if you are looking for the least expensive route.  There are plenty of foster children available for adoption in the US.  Good Luck

Answer 6

I'm wondering the same thing. It's not as easy to adopt "through the system" as some people would want you to believe. We had two concurrent placements (foster kids who would stay with us if it was determined that they couldn't go back to their parents) and had our hearts ripped out twice. Now, we're only interested in the legally free ones, and have an out of state worker looking at us. We're concerned about possible fees and such, but if this is God's Will, He'll provide a way. We're also looking at Guatemalan kids...again, if it's God's Will, He will provide.

Answer 7

There are adoption attorneys that charge a flat rate for their work and can make sure that you are paired with a birthmother that needs minimal financial assistance. The process could take longer that way, but if you find the right attorney to work with that's a huge step in the right direction.

Answer 8

As an adoptive parent I admire anyone who wants to adopt.  You say you want to give back, because your mother received assistance.  That is commendable, but if you need financial assistance to adopt will you also need to use financial resources to raise the child.  I do not know if that is truly giving back.  I would wait until you are financial secure, adopting with Child Protective Services, is not expensive.  Children adopted through this agency have free college educations.  If you adopt an older child you may be able to get medicaid, but all this aside, raising a child is expensive.

Answer 9

If you adopt through the state childwelfare agency there are not usually any fees involved.  In fact you can qualify for subsidy and post-adoptive services, such as medicaid and counseling if you choose to adopt a child who is hard to place.  These children are often the ones who really need a home, not the caucasian babies....there a families fighting over them.

Answer 10

A couple of ideas.  Have you looked at adopting from foster care?  These adoptions are free or virtually free.

If you want to do a private domestic or an international adoption, yes, the fees can be outrageous.  There are some ways to work with it, though.

Go online and see if you can find information on adoption grants (go to Shaohanna's Hope and the Dave Thomas Foundation also to look) that you might want to apply for.

Seek out information on adoption loans that are available through banks and credit card companies.

We used a second mortgage on our house to finance our adoption.

It's awesome that the military helps to cover the expenses.  Keep in mind the federal tax credit that is available.  Go to:

http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc607.html

for more info on that.  Your state may also have an adoption tax credit available...do a Google search to see if they do.

Some people also do garage sale, bake sales and other fund raisers to help cover the expenses.

So...just some ideas for you.

Answer 11

You can adopt an older child, sometimes even younger child, for FREE through CPS.  I wish there were more people like you!!!!!!!!!!