i am thinking i want to adopt a baby from korea. i really have no idea where to start though. I have done some surfing and found that adopting from a foreign country can cost more than 50k!! my husband and i are only 22 and have about 3k in our savings. and we have to work hard to keep money in there. My parents adopted 3 children from korea and 3 from the states. my cousins are trying to adopt from china and they have already adopted a baby girl from the states.
so how do these not so incredibly rich people afford to adopt all these children!? and where do you start?
My husband Is in the Airforce and we already have a little girl, but this is something we really want to do.
have you adopted children from another country? how did you start and how on earth did you pay for it!
Contact an agency to find out the specific requirements for Korean adoption. I beleive you are too young to adopt from Korea. Other requirements include income, length of marriage, and weight restrictions. Many of the larger agencies offer adoption grants. Good luck.
Bless you and your husband for wanting to help!
My sister and her husband were approved a few years ago for a Korean adoption, but when she unexpectedly became pregnant with their son they
postponed the adoption. They are just now re-visiting the process, and I don't know what their cost is going to be. If you are aware of Steven Curtis Chapman and his wife's views. experience, and work with adoptions you may want to check out this site for help with the adoption process:
http://www.showhope.org
AND ~
http://www.showhope.org/AdoptionAid/AdoptionGrants.aspx ~
where you can apply for an adoption aid grant from between $10,000 and $45,000.
My husband is also in the AF and we are in the midst of a domestic adoption. My husbands family adopted both from China and Korea, also while in the AF. It is expensive, but totally worth it. However, the government currently has $13,000 rebate and the military also offers up to $5,000 refund in addition so even if you have to take out some initial loans you could pay it back later with the refunds. I know the AF refund comes pretty quickly, but the gov't refund will be after taxes. The current gov't refund is set to expire at the end of this year but hopefully it will be renewed for next year. Good luck with your process it is amazing and totally worth it!
Well, if your parents have done this 3 times, they would be the first people I'd ask about it.
My cousin adopted a boy from Korea. I'm pretty sure they went through Catholic Charities. They are both Catholic, but I'm pretty sure that's not a prerequisite :-) You could give them a call.
Well I've never adopted myself, but I can tell you there there are generous tax credits out there for people who've adopted. I'm not sure what the 2011 credit is, but for 2010 the max credit was $13,170 per child. It's a refundable credit too, so you don't have to owe tax to get the money. My husband, Rich, can give you some more information on this....he's a tax accountant. You can call him at ###-###-#### with questions on claiming the credit.
Oh yeah, you might want to look into employer assistance and potential grants too. And, I believe that there is a tax exclusion for employer assistance, so you don't have to pick a portion of that up as taxable income....that is if your employer will offer the assistance.
Hope that helps! Good luck!
We are not rich, I am a teacher and my DH is a carpenter. We took out a second mortgage on our house, and racked up all our credit cards using credit cards to pay for our daily expenses, I'd say it was way less than 40k (5 yrs ago) Every day I look at my son and know it was worth it!
To adopt from South Korea you must meet many strict criteria including income, health, age, and weight restrictions. You may be better off waiting a few years or adopting domesticaly.
My husband was adopted from Korea from a military family located in the states. They adopted him through an agency called Holt International Agency. The are very reputable and even help adoptees find their birth parents and have a reunion. They have helped my husband a lot and now he is 43 and was adopted at age 6.
First make sure that South Korea is open right now for adoption. If they are, find a reputable international agency. Friends who have adopted from China and Guatemala have taken out second mortgages and home equity loans. Be ready for that type of thing because you're most likely going to spend between 25 and 40K and you also have to include travel expenses and time off. Many companies give great benefits to adoptive parents, but be sure you both can take 2 or 3 weeks off for the travel.
If you have family that have already done this why don't you ask them which agency they used?
My little brother is adopted from Korea. He was 4 months old when we got him and now he's in his 20's.
I don' think the agency is around anymore, but definately ask your parents who they have used.
There is one website called seoul searching mama, who often showcases Korean children waiting for adoption and talks about the process, she herself being a Korean adoptee:
