Anonymous wrote:See, this is what confuses me:

"2.The maximum amount of the credit is $12,650 that means you can reduce your 2012 tax bill by up to $12,650."

Does this mean that if we owe $0 in taxes (which we try very hard to do every year), that we'd get a refund of $12,650?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I see I am late to this posting but here are my thoughts and experience. Adoption is very expensive at least 40000. It can take years and I have a friend that adopted from CC and I took them 5 years, so not quick at all. While we are not adopting thru CC we have been waiting 2 years with a budget of 40k. We too did years and years of IVF Donor and we had one stillborn baby and many M/C with no insurance coverage and 60000 later no baby. And as for the GC, my friend is doing that right now at a tune of 100000. So however you have a baby it will be a small fortune unless you give birth you

rself. I only wish fertile people "got it"... Most are clueless!!

Those are my thoughts...OP....you must of had fertility coverage for first child or did you have him without IVF? Also if you don't live in the DC area why are you on this board? Prayers to you.

What if I told you the internet was everywhere? Did I just blow your mind?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Not sure if you're talking about domestic or international adoption, but I can answer from our particular international adoption journey from Korea:

Fingerprints, both through the local police and through CIS.
US govt applications to have the govt approve you to adopt, to classify the child as an orphan eligible for adoption, and one other thing, if I recall correctly
Homestudy that included 3 visits with a social worker, plus the time for the social worker to submit his/her reports
Medical exams, though a minor cost
Application fees to the adoption agency, although again, in the scheme of things, a minor cost
Fee when referral was received, which went to the Korean adoption agency- this was the most expensive part for us- at the time about $10k, IIRC. Our child was not a newborn and had been in the agency's care for many months. She received medical exams monthly and her foster parents received a stipend. The fees also went towards the Korean agency's other social welfare programs, like a maternity home for expectant mothers, care for those with intellectual disabilities, care for the elderly, and a home where parents had abandoned their children but had not relinquished their rights, leaving those children in limbo, unable to be adopted but not reunited with their parents.
Post-placement visits- again, 3 visits with the social worker and her and her agency's time to write up and review the reports
ICPC fee, which is something domestic adoption often deals with- b/c our agency isn't in the DC area and they had legal custody of our child, we had to petition to be allowed to transport her across state lines
Lawyer's fees- to finalize the adoption in Fairfax County court, b/c at the time, Korean adoptions were finalized in the US, not in Korea
Certificate of Citizenship, b/c the federal govt doesn't reccognize the local adpotion decree as proof of citizenship, so we had to pay mto get a piece of paper proving she was a citizen, even though the finalization automatically made her a citizen

All worth it!

Are you dumb or do you really believe that your adoption is used to finance foster care, maternity homes, intellectual disabilities, nursing homes and so on?

Korea has a bad reputation for 'farming' babies for adoption. There is no need for the adoption industry keeps its social systems alive, they have taxes for that. It really sounds like you purchased your child

Anonymous wrote:

Not sure if you're talking about domestic or international adoption, but I can answer from our particular international adoption journey from Korea:

Fingerprints, both through the local police and through CIS.
US govt applications to have the govt approve you to adopt, to classify the child as an orphan eligible for adoption, and one other thing, if I recall correctly
Homestudy that included 3 visits with a social worker, plus the time for the social worker to submit his/her reports
Medical exams, though a minor cost
Application fees to the adoption agency, although again, in the scheme of things, a minor cost
Fee when referral was received, which went to the Korean adoption agency- this was the most expensive part for us- at the time about $10k, IIRC. Our child was not a newborn and had been in the agency's care for many months. She received medical exams monthly and her foster parents received a stipend. The fees also went towards the Korean agency's other social welfare programs, like a maternity home for expectant mothers, care for those with intellectual disabilities, care for the elderly, and a home where parents had abandoned their children but had not relinquished their rights, leaving those children in limbo, unable to be adopted but not reunited with their parents.
Post-placement visits- again, 3 visits with the social worker and her and her agency's time to write up and review the reports
ICPC fee, which is something domestic adoption often deals with- b/c our agency isn't in the DC area and they had legal custody of our child, we had to petition to be allowed to transport her across state lines
Lawyer's fees- to finalize the adoption in Fairfax County court, b/c at the time, Korean adoptions were finalized in the US, not in Korea
Certificate of Citizenship, b/c the federal govt doesn't reccognize the local adpotion decree as proof of citizenship, so we had to pay mto get a piece of paper proving she was a citizen, even though the finalization automatically made her a citizen

All worth it!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I still don't get why it's so expensive. I mean, sure the courts need to be involved and some level of diligence needs to be done on the adopting parent (presumably the social worker does this) so I don't think you can avoid that expense. What else are you paying the agency to do?

Not sure if you're talking about domestic or international adoption, but I can answer from our particular international adoption journey from Korea:

Fingerprints, both through the local police and through CIS.
US govt applications to have the govt approve you to adopt, to classify the child as an orphan eligible for adoption, and one other thing, if I recall correctly
Homestudy that included 3 visits with a social worker, plus the time for the social worker to submit his/her reports
Medical exams, though a minor cost
Application fees to the adoption agency, although again, in the scheme of things, a minor cost
Fee when referral was received, which went to the Korean adoption agency- this was the most expensive part for us- at the time about $10k, IIRC. Our child was not a newborn and had been in the agency's care for many months. She received medical exams monthly and her foster parents received a stipend. The fees also went towards the Korean agency's other social welfare programs, like a maternity home for expectant mothers, care for those with intellectual disabilities, care for the elderly, and a home where parents had abandoned their children but had not relinquished their rights, leaving those children in limbo, unable to be adopted but not reunited with their parents.
Post-placement visits- again, 3 visits with the social worker and her and her agency's time to write up and review the reports
ICPC fee, which is something domestic adoption often deals with- b/c our agency isn't in the DC area and they had legal custody of our child, we had to petition to be allowed to transport her across state lines
Lawyer's fees- to finalize the adoption in Fairfax County court, b/c at the time, Korean adoptions were finalized in the US, not in Korea
Certificate of Citizenship, b/c the federal govt doesn't reccognize the local adpotion decree as proof of citizenship, so we had to pay mto get a piece of paper proving she was a citizen, even though the finalization automatically made her a citizen

All worth it!

Anonymous wrote:I see I am late to this posting but here are my thoughts and experience. Adoption is very expensive at least 40000. It can take years and I have a friend that adopted from CC and I took them 5 years, so not quick at all. While we are not adopting thru CC we have been waiting 2 years with a budget of 40k. We too did years and years of IVF Donor and we had one stillborn baby and many M/C with no insurance coverage and 60000 later no baby. And as for the GC, my friend is doing that right now at a tune of 100000. So however you have a baby it will be a small fortune unless you give birth you

rself. I only wish fertile people "got it"... Most are clueless!!

Those are my thoughts...OP....you must of had fertility coverage for first child or did you have him without IVF? Also if you don't live in the DC area why are you on this board? Prayers to you.

Anonymous wrote:I still don't get why it's so expensive. I mean, sure the courts need to be involved and some level of diligence needs to be done on the adopting parent (presumably the social worker does this) so I don't think you can avoid that expense. What else are you paying the agency to do?

Anonymous wrote:I see I am late to this posting but here are my thoughts and experience. Adoption is very expensive at least 40000. It can take years and I have a friend that adopted from CC and I took them 5 years, so not quick at all. While we are not adopting thru CC we have been waiting 2 years with a budget of 40k. We too did years and years of IVF Donor and we had one stillborn baby and many M/C with no insurance coverage and 60000 later no baby. And as for the GC, my friend is doing that right now at a tune of 100000. So however you have a baby it will be a small fortune unless you give birth yourself. I only wish fertile people "got it"... Most are clueless!!

Those are my thoughts...OP....you must of had fertility coverage for first child or did you have him without IVF? Also if you don't live in the DC area why are you on this board? Prayers to you.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, have you considered adopting from foster care?

No. It's important to know yourself, and it's not right for me. I admire people who can do that. I'm not that person.

Or maybe it's not quite what you think? You *do* have some control at every point in the process, including the decisions about which children you allow into your home, and which children you allow to remain in your home.

Also want to encourage you to re-explore international. Maintaining the link to the birth culture can be done in a very low-key way. Also, not all children have a deep desire to be connected to birth culture. This is something that can happen more organically as the child gets older -- it doesn't have to be an intense, expensive, energy-draining process right out of the gate. Most kids just assimilate as Americans.

We began our international adoption journey through this organization:
www.newhorizonsforchildren.org

Foster parent here. OP, do NOT listen to this person. If you don't think foster care is for you, then it isn't. While it's technically true that you can choose not to allow a child to remain in your home, that should be an ABSOLUTE last resort. Kids in foster care have already experienced loss, grief, and attachment disruptions by being pulled from their families of origin - getting tossed from a foster family is another loss that just chips away at their little souls. It's heartbreaking. And while you can choose which children to allow into your home theoretically, the agency may not know everything about the kid, or, worse yet, sometimes they mislead you in order to get you to take a kid. And then see above, re: disruptions. It's hard on kids.

Don't be a foster parent unless you're ready to really take it on.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here. Is there anything that keeps the birthmother from changing her mind? Is it possible one could end up paying all these expenses you guys are talking about and end up with nothing? Not trying to discourage anyone, just curious.

Yep. We had a failed adoption where the birthmother changed her mind, and were in the hole for thousands. It's not uncommon. But we kept at it, and had success the next time.

Wow...so you're just out all those costs? I mean, I guess there's not really anyone that could pay you back particularly if the birth mother doesn't have any means and you can't just go in and steal the baby from the mother, but still, that really blows. That's scary, you really are at the mercy of the whim of the birth mother.

We signed up with an agency and facilitator. Both just took our money and we were out at least $20,000 with them both. Neither ever helped us with a child. Lots more money to attorney's who just gave us bad advice. A expectant parent can make a plan for adoption, have 6-8 months of living expenses paid, not place and its basically too bad for the family. Then you have to start over, and that does not include more agency/attorney fees.

You cannot count on the credit. They change it every few years. Now they have made it harder to get as so many took advantage of it. It has to get renewed every year or every few years. Almost at every renewal there is huge fear of it being taken away.

6-8 months?
That must be an urban myth
Generally adoption plans are only made in the last trimester. You paid money to agency and facilitator. Women do not find out they are 1 month pregnant and then live off prospective adoptive parents for 8 months