Making Adoption More Affordable

Recently, the LDS Church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) announced that they are changing their focus of adoptive services. In this article posted on ABC News, it states that,

“The social services arm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will no longer handle adoptions and will instead shift its resources toward making referrals and counseling families about the process.”

This leaves many families looking for other adoption alternatives. Private adoption is expensive. But did you know that there is financial assistance available for adoptive families?

There is a Federal Tax Credit for Adoption. From their website, it states:

“Generally, you may qualify for the Adoption Credit if you adopted an eligible child and paid qualified adoption expenses in connection with the adoption. The amount of the tax credit is as much as $12,970 for tax year 2013. If you attempt to adopt a U.S. child, you may be able to claim the credit even if the newborn adoption does not become final. If you adopt a U.S. child with special needs, you may qualify for the full amount of the Adoption Credit even if you paid little or no adoption-related expenses, if the adoption is final. A child is a U.S. child if he or she was a citizen or resident of the United States (including U.S. possessions) at the time the adoption attempt began.”

Along with this tax credit, there are other ways to obtain grants and interest-free loans. These are explained on A Guardian Angel’s Website.

When we adopted our children, my husband’s employer offered an adoption benefit, which was a generous cash donation after the initial placement of our child, and again after finalization. It is well worth the effort to ask your place of employment if they offer an adoption benefit.

If you, or anyone you know, is looking to adopt, and perhaps is coming from LDS Family Services, we hope you will recommend them to A Guardian Angel Adoptions. We are happy to discuss with you ways to make your adoption more affordable, and look forward to helping you find your baby.