how much did your adoption cost?

[Anonymous]

domestic and/or international. through agency or through lawyer?

[Anonymous]

$22k international.

[Anonymous]

Actual adoptin was probably $15,000 but advertising, several attorneys, two crappy agencies and one facilitator all ripping us off with no baby, easily $50-60,000.

[Anonymous]

$50k-ish.

[Anonymous]

$23,000ish for everything. Domestic infant adoption.

[Anonymous]

International, 25-30K, plus we got the adoption tax credit, which lopped 10K off that.

[Anonymous]

$19K for the first in 2009 (legal, travel, home study, advertising), a domestic private adoption. The second, an adoption from foster care, will cost us about $2K (travel only) by the time we finalize next month.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Actual adoptin was probably $15,000 but advertising, several attorneys, two crappy agencies and one facilitator all ripping us off with no baby, easily $50-60,000.

How did they rip you off?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Actual adoptin was probably $15,000 but advertising, several attorneys, two crappy agencies and one facilitator all ripping us off with no baby, easily $50-60,000.

How did they rip you off?

Attorney's bill you 15-30 minutes for to answer a one sentence email with one sentence. They over billed even for simple things time wise that if they were skilled should have taken a fraction of the cost. The two agencies took a large sum upfront and basically never showed our profile. One about a year into it, changed their terms for all families and started billing quarterly of anywhere up to $2000 (they would not tell you the amount upfront) and if you did not pay, you got terminated as they were going under due to a huge decline in placement numbers. (They even tried to bill us after we got a private placement and we terminated with them as they were out of state and providing no assistance but we did not pay). The facilitator was a nightmare. We were with her over three years. She said horrible things to us about who we were (even though she didn't know us) and made up all kinds of crap. The only placement after 2.5 years was one situation in which the birthparents were together in a shelter with three kids in foster care. She wanted us to rent them an apartment in our name (so what happens after the placement or if they don't place), pay the rent, utilities, furnish it and give them a monthly stipend for phone, food and other stuff when the father would only work part-time and that was their fun money, according to the facilitator. She got angry at me when I asked about utility, rent assistance, food stamps, and other gov't benefits and why the kids were in foster care. She said it was just housing and as soon as they got an apartment the kids would be returned (its rarely just housing). So, after that she refused to place with us and kept demanding donations to her organization. Then, we lost money during our placement with the first attorney (we had two other local attorneys who we left to go to him) and he gave us crazy bills, messed up all the paperwork and left us out of state/ICPC for two extra weeks (three in total) with a child who needed medical care (we did try in that state and it was terrible) as he would not call ICPC to find out if we were cleared (we didn't pay part of his bill per the new attorney who was great)....... that's just part of it.

[Anonymous]

Domestic Infant. We've adopted twice. Each time about $23k + homestudy + another $2-3k for attorney for finalization. I think the $23k includes about $1,500 for ICPC but can't remember. Then there were the costs of travel as both were out of state.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Domestic Infant. We've adopted twice. Each time about $23k + homestudy + another $2-3k for attorney for finalization. I think the $23k includes about $1,500 for ICPC but can't remember. Then there were the costs of travel as both were out of state.

sorry meant to add we went with an agency and used an attorney for finalization.

[Anonymous]

interesting responses. I saw the paperwork on my own adoption from 1969 with Catholic Services. Total cost was $1500

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Actual adoptin was probably $15,000 but advertising, several attorneys, two crappy agencies and one facilitator all ripping us off with no baby, easily $50-60,000.

How did they rip you off?

Attorney's bill you 15-30 minutes for to answer a one sentence email with one sentence. They over billed even for simple things time wise that if they were skilled should have taken a fraction of the cost. The two agencies took a large sum upfront and basically never showed our profile. One about a year into it, changed their terms for all families and started billing quarterly of anywhere up to $2000 (they would not tell you the amount upfront) and if you did not pay, you got terminated as they were going under due to a huge decline in placement numbers. (They even tried to bill us after we got a private placement and we terminated with them as they were out of state and providing no assistance but we did not pay). The facilitator was a nightmare. We were with her over three years. She said horrible things to us about who we were (even though she didn't know us) and made up all kinds of crap. The only placement after 2.5 years was one situation in which the birthparents were together in a shelter with three kids in foster care. She wanted us to rent them an apartment in our name (so what happens after the placement or if they don't place), pay the rent, utilities, furnish it and give them a monthly stipend for phone, food and other stuff when the father would only work part-time and that was their fun money, according to the facilitator. She got angry at me when I asked about utility, rent assistance, food stamps, and other gov't benefits and why the kids were in foster care. She said it was just housing and as soon as they got an apartment the kids would be returned (its rarely just housing). So, after that she refused to place with us and kept demanding donations to her organization. Then, we lost money during our placement with the first attorney (we had two other local attorneys who we left to go to him) and he gave us crazy bills, messed up all the paperwork and left us out of state/ICPC for two extra weeks (three in total) with a child who needed medical care (we did try in that state and it was terrible) as he would not call ICPC to find out if we were cleared (we didn't pay part of his bill per the new attorney who was great)....... that's just part of it.

OMG. This is so unbelievable and I am so sorry you had to go through this. We have some good friends who also did domestic adoption and they had very similar stories to tell. They finally had success after a five year wait.

PP, I hope you are in a good place now.

[Anonymous]

As an adoptee, this thread makes me feel like a total commodity---nauseating. Legalized human trafficking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As an adoptee, this thread makes me feel like a total commodity---nauseating. Legalized human trafficking.

I had no idea adoption would cost so much.