The idea of creating a family by adopting a child and giving them love and affection is the bravest thing a couple can do.
Adoption is an excellent concept..!!
The parents will get a new addition to their family, and the baby will have the best chance to live a life full of love and opportunities that they deserve.
Across the globe, several children need the love and blessings of parents and a place to call home. On the other hand, many couples want to adopt a baby. Sounds like dual benefits in a single go. Isn’t it?
But it is not as easy as it sounds. The whole process of adoption comes with a cost attached to it. Right from the beginning, where a couple makes this remarkable decision of choosing to adopt a child to the point where a baby is finally placed in their arms, it involves a wholesome journey, full of love, loss, happiness, and sorrow. But why is adoption so expensive?
Why is Adoption so Expensive?
If the intention behind this whole act of adoption is so pure and rational, then why it comes with a cost attached to it? Why is adoption so expensive when all you are doing is full of love and affection?
So, this fair question ‘Why is adoption so expensive?’ comes to the mind of everyone. Even there are many instances where people take a step backward in their decision of adopting a child, just because they have heard that it is a complicated and expensive process. No need to worry as we are here to shed some light on this whole journey of adopting a child and what it takes in this whole process.
In layman’s terms, the reason behind the high cost of adoption is its highly complicated process and the need for extremely talented professionals that makes the whole thing so smooth and simple. The process is even more difficult as once the child is adopted, all the responsibilities, as well as the future of the child, come into the hands of the adopter. Now different countries have different rules, policies, and laws for adoption. Let us dig deeper into ‘Why is adoption so expensive?’ and see all the reasons behind the skyrocketing cost of adoption.
Types of Adoption
There are three types of adoption that a prospective couple can choose from
- Domestic
- Private
- International
Where domestic and private adoption is comparatively cheaper, international adoption costs much higher because of additional expenses includes such as travel expenses, fee charges of foreign govt, legal fees of foreign agency/attorney, liability insurance charges, etc.
Domestic adoption is the cheapest among all and can be completed for as low as $5000.
Private adoption costs range from about $5,000 to $20,000.
International adoptions can cost from $35,000 to over $50,000.
Why is Adoption so Expensive – Reasons behind the high cost of adoption
1. Legal Formalities
This is the just beginning of the process and the most important part as well. The first and foremost thing a prospective couple has to do in the process of adopting a child is to know the basic requirements aka eligibility it requires for the adoption of a child. For this, you need to choose an adoption center or attorney who will guide you in this process. These professionals will charge you a specific fee that can vary from one agency/attorney to another.
These attorneys/agencies play an important role in the whole process. There is a lot of paperwork that they have to do. It begins with guiding you in the type of adoption you want to have – domestic, private, or international to doing the FBI background verification, interviews, pieces of training, home visits, and all that. All this requires a lot of guidance, necessary legal processing, and extensive paperwork. And there is no doubt why the fee charged by these professionals is tremendously high.
2. Fees Charged by Country
To take necessary steps against child trafficking and preserve the rights of children, different countries have set their own set of rules and regulations to adopt a child. This also involves a specific amount of processing fee, which includes filling up massive forms, and a lot of paperwork again.
3. Travel Expenditure
There is a high chance that the parents and the child adopted need to travel on the journey of adoption. This adds additional expenses to the process. In the case of international adoption, these expenses are tremendously high and reach thousands of dollars as parents and children both need to travel and may involve multiple trips as well. In some situations, the parents and child have to live for months in a different country, which creates a whole lot of cost.
4. Medical Expenditure
Also known as birth mother expenses, this medical expenditure involves the cost incurred during pregnancy for an expectant mother pregnancy. It includes medical expenses, bills, rent, nutrition, medicines, etc.
Also, it depends from country to country as there are places where the birth mother expenditure is not required and hence waived off, whereas, in others, it is chargeable and is regulated accordingly. So, if your country is not charging money for birth mothers, then you can save a lot here.
5. Post-placement Expenses
So, after this tiring journey, the child is finally in your arms. But wait… the process is not yet over as even after the child is home, there is a fee charged for around six weeks after the successful placement of the child, known as the post-placement fee. There are reasons behind the post-placement fee as well. It includes:
- Counseling sessions for the mother.
- Post-placement monthly visit charges to the home of the parents and the new baby.
Financial Planning for Adoption
The high cost that this whole process of adoption is required great financial assistance, and it is always better to plan your expenses to avoid unnecessary trouble in the future. So, the best part of your end could be:
Getting in touch with a tax professional: There are countries where you will be benefitted in
- Taxpaying if you adopt a child. So, it is advised to connect with a tax agent and discuss all that it takes to qualify for an adoption process.
- Try fundraising or crowd-funding options: You are not alone in this journey, and there are various other couples like you who want to adopt a child but do not have sufficient funds. So the idea of crowd-funding is best to take help from in such times.
- Check your eligibility for a loan: Not the best option to consider, but yea, there is something better than nothing.
- Nothing is better than adoption grants, but this is only if luck is in your favor.
No matter how tiresome the journey is. In the end, it is all worth it. It takes a brave heart and a lot of love to give life to a child. You may find it difficult and expensive in the beginning, but as you will take a step forward, you will realize that there are various fundraising and loan options available to help you out.
Whenever a thought of giving up comes in your round, just remember that there are thousands of children in this world that are waiting to have the opportunity of getting the love of parents, a home, and a happy childhood.
