[Karenanne]

Is anyone not able to adopt or delaying their adoption plans due to money? My husband and I have a 2 year old son from Kazakhstan. His adoption cost a small fortune due to extended stay and other "hidden" costs. My question is there any way to get a set fee without any hidden surprises? Also did you have the entire amount of money before you started the process?

[jbntb]

We have been waiting for a year to save up the money. We didn't want to have another loan to pay back and a baby to support too. DH lost his job in march and had to take a less paying job so that changed all of our plans. We were going to save all the money and then I was going to become a stay at home mom. But not now. We are still going with the schedule we set to start in Oct. even though we only have 2/3 of the money saved. We will keep saving while we're waiting to be matched and hopefully have most of it when the time comes. I haven't found anyone with a set fee and I'm worried about the hidden costs too.

[jaenelle]

We took out a home equity line of credit for most of our adoption. We have or will pay for everything except the agency fee out of pocket -- the homestudy, all travel, all legal fees and miscellaneous expenses we've been able to come up with the money for and expect to be able to come up with the rest. But the agency fee -- no way we could wait to save up $13,000! You might check into lines of credit if you own your home or have something else you own that you could pledge for collateral.

[tobeafamily]

Originally Posted by Karenanne

Is anyone not able to adopt or delaying their adoption plans due to money? My husband and I have a 2 year old son from Kazakhstan. His adoption cost a small fortune due to extended stay and other "hidden" costs. My question is there any way to get a set fee without any hidden surprises? Also did you have the entire amount of money before you started the process?

We saved for a year before starting the process, and we had actually more than we needed by the time we were done. The key seemed to be that we got so used to living on less each month.

There are many agencies who offer fixed fees for things like homestudies, post placement supervision, etc. Attornies generally do not though they will give you an estimate that's pretty good.

As far as hidden surprises, my best advice is to decide before you start what your limits are with regard to:

1. Assisting expectant parents with medical, legal, living expenses where permitted by law. You DO NOT HAVE to pay any expenses if you choose, and you may feel pressured otherwise. Walk away if you are

2. Travel expenses and such - you can choose where you wish to travel and where not, working only with local expectant parents vs. those living accross the country. Many paparents will only go to states where they may have exended family or friends they can stay with, etc.

JMHO HTH

Regina