Questions about adoption - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

warrrreagl · 06-30-2003, 12:35 PM

My wife and I are considering adopting. We are unable to have our own children , so we've always thought about it. Lately, the thought is really starting to gain momentum.

I am a former schoolteacher, so I have a lot of experience with kids (translation: discipline and motivation).

We do not want infants. I think the youngest we would consider would be 6.

We want a child of our own race, but not necessarily our own nationality.

We would be receptive to adopting siblings that might otherwise be split up.

We are not rolling in dough, but we are comfortably affluent and will be moving to a new house in the country soon.

Now, is it better to hire a lawyer or to go through an adoption agency? If you go through a lawyer, do you have to go through all the angst over being turned down? If you go through an agency, can you be picky?

What are the pros and cons of both situations that we haven't considered?

What other things should we consider?

lemurlad · 06-30-2003, 02:04 PM

This may be a repeat.

Start with Child Welfare Services and let them guide you. You should only need a lawyer to file paper work. Adoption is an invitation to be gouged with fees.

My first adoption the lawyer charged $240 and appologised. My second adoption I have yet to recieve a bill. Of course it's still not finalized.

A lot depends on the state...even the county. Arkansas and Indiana seem to be the most adoption friendly states.

06-30-2003, 12:35 PM	#1 (permalink)
warrrreagl pinche vato Location: backwater, Third World, land of cotton	Questions about adoption My wife and I are considering adopting. We are unable to have our own children , so we've always thought about it. Lately, the thought is really starting to gain momentum. I am a former schoolteacher, so I have a lot of experience with kids (translation: discipline and motivation). We do not want infants. I think the youngest we would consider would be 6. We want a child of our own race, but not necessarily our own nationality. We would be receptive to adopting siblings that might otherwise be split up. We are not rolling in dough, but we are comfortably affluent and will be moving to a new house in the country soon. Now, is it better to hire a lawyer or to go through an adoption agency? If you go through a lawyer, do you have to go through all the angst over being turned down? If you go through an agency, can you be picky? What are the pros and cons of both situations that we haven't considered? What other things should we consider? __________________ Living is easy with eyes closed.

06-30-2003, 02:04 PM	#2 (permalink)
lemurlad Tilted	This may be a repeat. Start with Child Welfare Services and let them guide you. You should only need a lawyer to file paper work. Adoption is an invitation to be gouged with fees. My first adoption the lawyer charged $240 and appologised. My second adoption I have yet to recieve a bill. Of course it's still not finalized. A lot depends on the state...even the county. Arkansas and Indiana seem to be the most adoption friendly states.