economic costs of adoption

[Anonymous]

We're considering the adoption route, but are somewhat dismayed and discouraged when we see the costs. We don't have $20,000 to do this or anything else, including care of a special needs child. How much, everything included, did it cost for your adoption? Domestic or intl? private attny?

[Anonymous]

I'm guessing it was around $50,000 when all was said and done. Domestic, agency. Consulted with an attorney along the way. (Legal fees are the most unpredictable costs.) That total includes the cost of one fall-through (birth mother changed her mind). Lots of people do it for cheaper, however. Through the foster system, perhaps?

[Anonymous]

International - $35k five years ago, now families are reporting closer to $50 to $70k
International - $30k two years ago
Domestic - older child, $20k

[Anonymous]

International-$25k 4 1/2 years ago.

[Anonymous]

Domestic, older child through private agency, about $20K 2 years ago
This year domestic, older child through public services, about $7500K
I highly recommend adoptionstogether.org! They have amazing training for parents looking to adopt older kids.

[Anonymous]

If you don't have money for adoption, one thing you can do is adopt from foster care. Much cheaper. I would call your state/city social services agency and ask for costs to see if that fits into your budget.

[Anonymous]

I am not saying this to mean or critical, but I spend way more than $20k a year to take care of my kids. Unless you have someone to take care of your child once you complete the adoption, you will be spending at least $1k per month and probably more just for daycare or you will be losing an income if one parent decides to stay home. Couple that with diapers, clothes, food, and all of the other stuff we spend money on, it really adds up quickly. If you just start putting away the money that you would be spending if you had a child, you might be able to come up with your costs pretty quickly.

[Anonymous]

One year ago, Korean adoption, approximately $27k, including lawyer's fees. BUT, that also includes a nice 2 week trip to Korea for 2 people. The good thing with our agency (and hopefully other agencies too), is that you paid as you went along, so fees were due in stages, not all upfront. That helped.

[Anonymous]

And remember the Federal Tax Credit which is approx. $12,000 for adoptions completed in 2010. And many employers also give money to adoptive parents to assist with costs from completed adoptions. We are in the final stages of an international adoption and expect to receive approx. $17,000 ($12k from Feds, $5k from work) back.

[Anonymous]

The federal tax credit is expected to drop to $5k at midnight on Jan 1, 2011. Also, if you are getting $5k from your employer, your federal tax credit won't be the max. Check with your tax advisor on this before you count on all that money.

[Anonymous]

PP, considering our adoption-related expenses will be $25,000+, I thought that we could file for the maximum $12,000 plus the $5,000 (gross) from our employer. Could you point me in the direction of what states we can't take both?

[Anonymous]

Don't forget, you can't take the adoption tax credit until the year the adoption is actually finalized.

Also, there are foundations who give adoption grants.

[Anonymous]

Please keep in mind that children in general are expensive. If both parents plan to continue to work, childcare can range from 12-30k per year, depending if you go w/ home care, center care or nanny. In addition, you have clothes/food/toys, etc. We have 3 children (not adopted), and we probably spend at least a total of 50k per year on various expenses (2 in childcare and preschool, 1 in private school who will also be going to college next year).

[Anonymous]

"PP, considering our adoption-related expenses will be $25,000+, I thought that we could file for the maximum $12,000 plus the $5,000 (gross) from our employer. Could you point me in the direction of what states we can't take both? "


The $5k from your employer is deducted from your qualified expenses. If you have enough qualified expenses after the deduction and you fit within the income guidelines, you will get the max credit. If the adoption occurs before midnight on 12/31/10, the max credit is in the $12k range. If it is completed after that time, the credit is $5k.

If you live in MD, there is also a $5k tax credit. Qualifying expenses are more limited than under the federal law though. For my $35k adoption, I only had about $3k in qualifying expenses. But that is better than nothing.

[Anonymous]

Thank you, PP, for your help.

I am in MD--am I correct that the MD $5K tax credit is only for adoptions in which the child qualifies as having a special need? Also, do you have an online link for info re: MD tax credit. Googling is not helping me.

Thank you again for your assistance...