Adoption - Financing Rates

Never gone through it, but pretty sure there are numerous non-profits out there that offer adoption financial assistance. Would imagine they may offer better rates than a bank can, but no idea.


Also, many companies offer their employees adoption assistance. May be worth a shot to check with yours if you haven't already.

Pretty disgusting amount of $ to have to shell out to give a child a home.

I second looking into company benefits.

I know nothing about adoptions. However, I know Lightstream offers loans for medical/adoption purposes.

You can also take a tax deduction for fees associated with the process. I think last year it was like $26,000. Like someone else said I would talk to an organization that does that kind of stuff to get all of that info hammered down.

Honestly, the whole thing should be deductible

And to think we pay some people to have future voters... I mean kids.

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Why is it so expensive? Who's making the money? Government?

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I'll jump in on this to expound as well. My oldest is adopted and she is now in her late teens. We went through a private attorney in NOLA, so a little more expensive than say, catholic charities.

You have to remember that the birthmother and her family were dirt poor. She had no insurance, no way to pay for prenatal care, and no way to make money while she didn't work during childbirth (yes, she had a part-time job at a fast food restaurant and was the bread winner for her family - family, meaning her mother and grandmother).

Things we had to pay for:
1. Prenatal care
2. Hospital stay during childbirth
*Both of these items are not covered by my insurance, so we had to pay the cash price. The other option was to have the birthmother go to Charity in NOLA or somewhere like that, so we paid a big bill at a very nice, private hospital.
3. Attorney fees and court costs
*Attorney fees were surprisingly low in the grand scheme of things. There are several court visits as you make your way to finally, officially adopting the child. All these court costs are paid up front to the attorney, along with his fees.
4. In home visits and studies by social worker along with fairly extensive background check and application (read: government).
5. Money for the birthmother. While this could be construed as a bribe, or payment for the child, the reality is that the birthmother is going to have to miss several weeks of work. Did I mention that she was dirt poor, and cannot afford to miss any work? So, we paid her what she would have made during that time period, along with any other expenses she incurred to that point for the pregnancy. She probably embellished the amount, but for the amount she was asking, compared to the other totals, we didn't bat an eye.

All in all, many look at the $30,000 price tag and think the lawyers take the majority of it, but in my experience, the majority went to the hospital first, then the doctors, then the lawyer, then the birthmother, then the fees. IIRC, much of it was tax deductible. I think we came in around $28,500, but this was almost 20 years ago now.

As for the OP, I cannot help with questions about financing, as we paid cash. it was a tough pill to swallow, which made for lots of begging and borrowing during those first few months. Borrow everything you can: crib, changing table, clothes, etc. I am certainly glad we had the support system of family and friends for all of those things.

Oh, and all of those expenses now pale in comparison to having a teenager that is driving and shopping.



Best of luck to you OP, and if you have any other questions I can help with, I'm happy to help. I have another child since that is not adopted, and I seriously see no difference in the two. It has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life and I wouldn't change any of it for the world.

Man that was an awesome write up and I greatly appreciate it.

Many thanks.

We will be using an agency without a doubt. Looking forward to the rollercoaster that we're about to board.