I feel like I have a lot of the information already about adopting, and I know they will go over a lot of it before they ask if we have any questions but I was wondering if any of you had suggestions for questions that would be good to ask? I want to ask about the percentage of adoptions that fall through (because this is my biggest fear) and if the adoption tax credit has been ok'd for 2013. Anything else you all can think of?
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How exciting! I was so excited about going to our first appointment with the agency.
A lot of my questions were centered around average wait time, cost, and ethical issues (I really wanted to make sure the birthmoms weren't being coerced into anything). I'm having a hard time thinking of anything specific to suggest you ask, though.
I've been watching the tax credit like a hawk and right now, nothing has been set for 2013. I'm really hoping it gets approved, otheriwise I don't know how we'll pay for this thing!
Good luck! I can't wait to hear an update on how things go!!!
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@loveletter: I wonder when they will announce it or if they have all year to do so. Do you have a certain site that you check to see if it's been approved? I'm praying it comes through again, or, like you, I don't know what we'll do! I'm excited to go to our appointment. But nervous at the same time. We would still have to get approved too - which really scares me
Oh! That reminds me - I should ask what percentage of people they approve -
I also focused on ethical issues, both with care of birthmom and birthdad rights. I live in a State that is very pro-adoptive parents, so I wanted to make sure that my baby's birth parents were well taken care of.
The tax credit for 2013 is in limbo. As of right now, the IRS code says that in 2013, there will only be a tax credit for special needs babies and the credit will be up to $6,000, with no refunds, only credit. And if you make more than $229K adjusted, you are no longer eligible. The agency of course will try to hedge and say that there might be a credit available to you. The way congress is looking, I wouldn't count on it
Hope this helps!
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http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Adoption-Credit-Phone-Forum-Questions-and-Answers
Oooh, I also asked what resources they had available to adoptive parents post-placement, because things can come up that people might need help with and I've heard of many agencies finalizing and then forgetting about you. I purposely picked an agency that wouldn't do that.
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I was also concerned with birth mother fees. I purposefully picked an agency that did not have them. I just didn't want thousands of dollars extra and then have that birth mother back out. I had a friend just o through an adoption here she was paying out money left and right for rent and food, then the birth mom told her she took the men and went to disneyland. I would have been so frustrated. It was just added stress I didn't want to have.
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@Mrs.VW: This is the site I follow for tax credit info: http://adoptiontaxcredit.org/. I became a "fan" of them on facebook, so I get all their updates in my newsfeed. It also tells how you can advocate for the tax credit... i wrote my congressman and he wrote back and said he supported the tax credit.
Maybe I'm just being too optimistic, but I really think the tax credit will be renewed! In the long run, it saves the government a lot of money, especially if you look at what is spent on keeping a child in foster care over the course of their life.
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Thank you all! This is such great info and gives me a lot to think about! Just out of curiousity and to see where the agency we are looking at falls - our agency's estimate of average fees is $12,300. What about your agencies?
@loveletter: I just wrote to my congressman. I'm like you, I'd like to think that it will come through again for this year. I know even if it doesn't we'll do all we can to make it work.
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@Mrs.VW: Wow! That seems inexpensive compared to what I've seen! Our agency's fees are $19,000 and they said with the additional costs, we should expect to pay $25,000 to $29,000. It seems like most of the agencies in my state are around the same cost.
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@loveletter: Wow!! Well I will be sure to double check with them when we go then! I just don't want a bunch of hidden fees. I want to be able to be realistic about it from the beginning. We're going this route as opposed to RE/IUI/IVF for a few reasons so I'm expecting the cost to be pretty similar to that, so I wouldn't be surprised by $20,000.
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