How did you pay for adoption?

jschmidt · 05-18-2003, 02:07 PM

I am just beginning to look into adoption, international or American, and I was just wondering how you guys paid for it. I am very interested in adopting from Guatemala, especially after reading your posts and going to the Carolina Hope website. As of now my husband is still in college, I'm a teacher so our income is right around $30,000, will we qualify for adoption if we try to get a loan or credit line through our mortgage? I'm willing to get a loan to pay for it, I don't want money to stand in the way, but I didn't know if our home study and INS approval would go through. Any advice? Thanks

Julie

JenJen78 · 05-19-2003, 12:36 AM

Julie,
I do know that you have to be 125% above poverty level to adopt from Guatemala. I think it is about $18,000 for a 3 family income. (as of 2002)

You can get alot of grants and loans for adoptions. You might just do a search on the web for adoption grants and adoption loans. If you have equity in your home, that is a great way to pay for the adoption.

I think you should be able to find an agency that will accept you with your income. Some may not, but I would suggest that when you search for a homestudy agency or placement agency, that you ask them right off the bat, before paying them any money.

Best of luck to you, and if I can be of any help, please let me know. I just finished the adoption of my son from Guatemala, so everything is still pretty fresh for me.

cyndl · 05-19-2003, 11:31 AM

i am doing crafts and going to sell them to help raise money for our adoption. i am crocheting baby items to sell. we have decided against getting loans. we don't want so much debt. there are lots of creative ways to raise money.

good luck.
cyndl

jschmidt · 05-19-2003, 04:37 PM

JenJen,
How long did the entire process of adopting from Guatemala take? Did you get your homestudy and INS clearance done before even contacting them about adopting? I read a lot of stuff on the Carolina Hope website, were you completely satisfied with the way things went? Even before I found out I have PCOS we had wanted to adopt from another country, of course we always just thought that it would be after we had our own children

I got excited though reading their website and thinking about the possibility. Are you still trying to get pregnant or are you done ttc? Thanks

Julie

websissy · 05-19-2003, 10:22 PM

Here's a website that explains some options:

Adoption Financing

JenJen78 · 05-20-2003, 12:55 AM

Julie,
Our adoption, from dossier in Guatemala to bringing Zach home took 6 months. That included the Christmas and Easter holidays which are supposed to be the longest holidays in Guatemala (from what I've heard)

I was happy with the way our adoption went. We used Heart to Heart in NY. We contacted the agency before we had anything done. I thought this was easier, because they were able to help us make sure our homestudy was right for Guatemala and everything. This way, we didn't have to do any changes before submitting to Guatemala.

We accepted Zach's referral

jschmidt · 05-20-2003, 09:53 AM

Thanks for all of your responses, it's so helpful knowing other people have gone through this and are willing to help. Right now we are praying about adopting from Guatemala, trying to save some money, and I'll keep you all posted

Julie

adopt a child · 05-30-2003, 09:56 PM

we used childrens home society of north carloina, all we paid was 40.00 court cost! not all adoptions are expensive. our home study was free, the MAPP classes were free! check them out!!

jschmidt · 05-31-2003, 12:05 PM

Is the Children's Home Society in NC a public/government agency? Did you adopt an infant or an older child? Thanks!

Julie

adopt a child · 06-01-2003, 10:18 AM

they are a state not for profit agency. I adopted a 7 week old. He is considered"special needs" because of family history of mental illness. He is a normal , growing child though.Whose family doesnt have some mental illness issues??lol..I had such a great outcome with this agency, we are currently waiting to adopt 1 more special needs child.

lilac · 06-04-2003, 10:26 PM

we adopted domestically and took out a home equity loan to pay for it. It was actually much more affordable than we thought. When we first heard of the price it was a bit of a shocker but overall we were extremely happy with the facilitator's service and became parents to a beautiful 2 day old baby. That is PRICELESS!!!!!

youlittletart · 06-05-2003, 02:13 PM

If your husband is in college, have you thought about seeing if he qualifies for a student loan from the government. They are called Stafford Loans and you can qualify to get up 8500 a semester (he would look into this by talking to the people at financial aid at his school). They are some that are simply very low interest and others that don't begin to bear interest until 6 months after your husband graduates. Even if you make a decent amount of money, he will probably still qualify. My husband and I both worked as teaching assistants while we were in grad school and qualified for the stafford. This money is free and clear in the sense that you can use it at your discretion for living "expenses"....not books or tuition. They just write you a big fat check that you deposit into your account.
You should look into the possibility.
Good Luck,
jen

rachelmichellek · 06-10-2003, 11:42 AM

Um, as someone who has taken out a LOT of Staffords, it has not been my experience that you just get the "big fat check" in hand. They are written out jointly to your school and to you, and then you sign the check over to the school and then the school cuts you a refund check for any amount of the loan money that's over and above what your school bill is. That's IF you're eligible to get a Stafford in the first place (not that it is that unusual to qualify, but still, not everyone does). So, yes, go talk to the financial aid office and see if this setup fits your situation.