What is the Cost of Adoption?

 Posted on November 13, 2014 in Children

According to the U.S. government, it will cost approximately $245,000 to raise a child in this country. However, if that child is adopted, the Child Welfare Information Gateway says parents should add on up to $40,000 – the total amount it could cost to adopt a child.

The Child Welfare Information Gateway is a division of the U.S Department of Health and Human Services. The agency provides information for people who are looking to adopt. According to their statistics, the average cost to adopt can be anywhere between $8,000 and $40,000. For foreign country adoptions, the cost can fall between $15,000 and $30,000. Parents who are seeking to adopt an older child through foster care can anticipate costs from $0 to $2,500.

The largest expense in adoption is usually the adoption agency fee. Adoption agencies match parents to babies and their fees vary greatly. Some agencies will charge a large up-front fee which has everything included. Other agencies will charge a smaller fee, but charge extra for many of the same services agencies that charge larger fees include in their totals.

Larger agencies tend to charge larger fees, partially because of the time they put in to find prospective birth mothers, as well as more business overhead they have compared to smaller agencies. While smaller agencies may charge smaller fees, they typically do not have a large amount of babies, to place so this could mean a longer wait time for a child.

Some prospective parents hire an adoption consultant to help expedite the process. Some compare an adoption consultant to a travel agent or real estate agent. A consultant may have the ability to find a wider range of adoption agencies with which a couple can work.

There are also attorney fees that are involved in legal adoptions. These fees can vary depending on the complexity of the adoption and whether or not both biological parents are involved and in agreement of the adoption.

There are multiple other costs prospective parents may incur as well in the adoption process. Depending on which state the adoption is taking place, these expenses could include counseling for the birth mother and other expenses she may have, such as lost wages, maternity clothes, and cell phone bills.

To learn more about the legal process of adoption, consider contacting an experienced Arlington Heights adoption attorney at A. Traub & Associates. Our experienced team of family law attorneys understand the legal complexities of the adoption process both domestically and internationally.