Thank you for all the kind words on my last post where I had a melt down. I feel that there may be more coming. I have tried my best over the years not to complain too often on this blog, but lately it has been very tough. I thought IF was lonely, well adoption is lonely too. Most people I come in contact with don't understand the process that I am going through both physical and emotional.
DH contacted the SW bc I can't stand her. They talked about it, she apologized for being "frank" hmmm the last time I looked up the definition of frank it did not describe her. They did not bring up specifics but made it sound like we were good to move forward. She told dh that we had a great application bc she has had some people with DWI etc. My thoughts were then she should we wining and dining us bc our records are spotless.
I asked DH to get the final copy of the report or at least some physical proof that we passed like a certificate etc. Neither have come in yet.
I thought and prayed about this and decided to just let it go bc I have taken so long to get this far. The one other agency I contacted during my melt down did not respond.
Today in the mail we get the contract with all the fees in it. $50 for initial application and $450 for formal application, were already paid. $1,300 for home study was due. I expected that since we just about finished it and was wondering where the bill was.
Then I got a surprise. At this moment they want $7,000 for pre-placement and it is non-refundable. I looked back at the price sheet they gave us in October. It was listed on the form, but I guess they way they spaced it out, it looked like something you would pay later on. It did not say non refundable, but in smaller print down further it said all fees are non nonrefundable except post placement.
I tried to figure out what was going to cost $7,000. It listed a few general items. The way the contract is written it locks you in. Now I have to make a huge decision bc if I sign this I can't change agencies unless I want to lose $7,000.
We spoke about it and I want a lawyer to look this over due to the large sum of money. $27,00 in all plus lawyer fees, birth mother medial etc. I am curious about anyone else's experience with fee schedule. Feel free to PM me if you don't want to post it publicly.
Now I am looking back into other agencies to see what their fee schedule is like. UGH
Sorry, no experience. Will keep you in my prayers. I just don't understand why it is all so expensive.
ReplyDeleteWe are working with a small, local agency, so I think that changes things. Our fees will not be that high and we do not have to pay anything toward the adoption until a placement happens. We did have to pay an agency fee... I think it was $300 when we first submitted our app. And our homestudy fee was $1,500. But other than that, we haven't paid anything yet. Once we have a placement (aka baby!), we will owe the agency between $9,000 and $21,000 depending on what our income is. It's a sliding scale. Then we'll need to pay a lawyer to finalize. I think that's usually between $1,000 and $2,000. So, those are our costs. I'm pretty sure they're on the lower side b/c we went with a local agency that doesn't advertise. Hope this helps!
ReplyDeleteSad to say but that sounds pretty standard to me with all that we've looked into but make sure their placement time is at least 2 years or more so they are not asking for more money if they don't find you a placement within a certain time frame like 3-18months. I will say if you are having hesitations because of the social worker then maybe looking at another agency might be best and having a lawyer look over the contract is a good idea. Our home study in the state of CA will be a little over $3,000! Why is adoption so expensive?!
ReplyDeleteHmmm...we paid quite a bit more than that for to sign up with the facilitator...and that money is non-refundable...our contract is for two years. Is your agency going to do some searching and reaching out for you? The actual adoption agency that did the homestudy's fees were comparable to what you paid for a h/s, etc. We will have to pay this agency money when we are in contact with an expectant mom (for counseling her, making sure she's making the right decision etc) and we also have to pay lawyer fees...yep...expensive. I don't want to put a price tag on a baby...nope...but it is a lot of money. I would have a lawyer look at things to make sure there are not any other hidden fees, etc. My dh and I have just been socking away as much money as we can so IF an adoption does happen...we are ready financially. Praying for you as you make some tough decisions.
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