adoptive parent profiles

Adoption: How Much Does It Cost?

Overwhelmed by the costs of adoption? It may not be quite what you think…

Individuals and couples wishing to have a child but unable to do so naturally typically have two options: adoption or assisted reproduction (ART).  Both options are relatively comparable in cost, with the average price of a domestic adoption in the United States ranging from $20,000-$45,000 and a donor egg pregnancy via in vitro fertilization priced between $20,000-$35,000.  If, however, you require a donor embryo, the cost could be $7,500-$20,000, and gestational carrier/surrogacy can drive the cost from $50,000 to over $100,000.

Assuming, however, you are looking simply at the comparable donor egg option, one important thing to keep in mind is that adoption, unlike assisted reproduction, offers a federal tax credit and many employers offer credits as well.  For a couple with combined annual incomes of less than $180,000, the federal adoption credit could be up to $13,190.  Employer tax credits typically range from $2,000-$5,000 and are offered by companies like SAS, CISCO, IBM, the United States Department of Defense and many others.

I encourage clients to determine first how much these credits will offset their cost of adoption to determine their ‘bottom-line’ cost.

So now that you have done your cost analysis, how do you afford your ‘bottom-line’?  Most adoptive families are middle-income and are able to work out the costs over time.  Options for financing an adoption include:

  • Borrowing against home equity, allowing a deduction while waiting for the tax credit;
  • Borrowing against a retirement or 401K plan
  • Grants and adoption assistance programs through public and private organizations;
  • Asking family members and relatives to assist with cost

Where there’s a will, there’s a way!

E. Parker Herring is a Board Certified Family Law Specialist and managing partner of Herring & Mills, PLLC, a Raleigh family law firm.  Herring is also director of A Child’s Hope, a North Carolina licensed adoption agency.

Do you have a story you’d like to tell?  Email us at blog.ach@foryourlife.com.  Visit us at www.AChildsHope.com, or call our Birth Mother Hotline at 1-877-890-HOPE (4976) so one of our adoption counselors can answer your questions confidentially.

Please remember that this is a public site open to anyone; therefore, anything you post can be seen by anyone.

Completing Their Forever Family Through Adoption Networking!

Josh and Kelly took placement of their beautiful baby girl Ansley in late January this year.  The also took the networking challenge as waiting adoptive parents.  They signed up and participated in the online courses through My Adoption Advisor, created a profile, website, Facebook page, and YouTube video!  Not to mention getting the word out to family and  friends that they were looking to adopt!

Through a  friend of a friend who knew they were looking to adopt, they connected with their birth mother. Once they established contact with their birth mom, they found it was extremely helpful that they were able to refer her to their website, where she was able to learn more about them and their family.

Since their placement, they have learned that waiting parents are indeed putting themselves out there and networking in an effort to shorten their wait time and best of all… it really works!!!  “Networking brought us to our birth parents who gave us the gift of completing our forever family!”, said Kelly.

A big thanks to Josh, Kelly and their family  for allowing us to tell the story of their adoption journey.

Do you have a story you’d like to tell?  Email us at blog.ach@foryourlife.com.  Visit us at www.AChildsHope.com, or call our Birth Mother Hotline at 1-877-890-HOPE (4976) so one of our adoption counselors can answer your questions confidentially.

Please remember that this is a public site open to anyone; therefore, anything you post can be seen by anyone.

The Networking Challenge

In 2012, Jody and Paige took the networking challenge to heart and reached out to family and friends with an email… which led them to Riley’s birth mom and their placement!!

Jody and Paige went on our website in 2011, and took to heart the need to network on their behalf to find a child to adopt.  They were matched with a birthmother who was due August 2012, and the match is a direct result of their efforts to reach out and let others know that they wish to adopt.

They found their birth mother Megan by putting out the word among family and friends in an email with links to their website.  After finishing their profile and website with Hal and Joanna, Paige sent out an email to everyone on her contact list that she and Jody were planning to adopt, wanted to share their story and get the word out there!  Paige referred back to My Adoption Advisor’s online “Adoption Advertising & Networking” class which helped her create her email.  And about a week later they got a phone call from a woman Jody had served with in the military…  Her daughter had just come to her and told her she was pregnant and they reached out to Jody and Paige for a possible adoption plan.  All from an email!

A Big thank you to Jody, Paige and Riley for allowing us to tell the story of their family!

Do you have a story you’d like to tell?  Email us at blog.ach@foryourlife.com.  Visit us at www.AChildsHope.com, or call our Birth Mother Hotline at 1-877-890-HOPE (4976) so one of our adoption counselors can answer your questions confidentially.

Please remember that this is a public site open to anyone; therefore, anything you post can be seen by anyone.

Birthmother Hotline: (877) 890-4673

Envia Un Texto: (919) 218-6270

Text: Pregnant to (919) 971-4396