I’ve been meaning to post this for awhile. And since nothings new in AJ land… here you are.

With the paperwork for our finalization, I had to submit a disclosure of the fees and expenses associated with the adoption. Other than my handy excel spreadsheet, I haven’t really seen all the numbers written down.  I want to share them, because I think it’s important for people to know, if they’re considering adoption. I had no idea it would cost this much. My heart was already invested in the idea by the time we found out the details, and so we just decided to take a leap of faith. Because we believed God was calling us to adopt at this time, we had faith that He would provide the means. And He did. Not in the ways I would have hoped (no bags of money on my doorstep). But AJ’s here and that’s all that really matters.
However, if you prefer to be outstandingly responsible in your adoption process, I suggest you save a buttload of cash.

Before I give the fancy numbers… let me say that I in no way regret any of the money that went towards the adoption process. Though its big money and hard to part with, I know exactly what it was going towards and feel that everyone is well deserving. Though we sometimes joke, I know the money sent to Korea did not “buy” my son. There were many many people involved in the this process, and the fees we paid barely cover their time and effort.
Also, these numbers are specific to adopting through our agencies with a specific agency in Korea. Though I think it gives an accurate average of what an adoption from Korea might cost, pricing definitely varies depending on the country and who you work with in the states. In addition, since we had to pay them, many US Gov fees have increased.

Here you go. Broken into the catergories requested by Durham County.

Application and Homestudy Fees - paid to Carolina Adoption Services and Family & Children’s Agency - $3,170
Placement Agency Administration Fees -  paid to Carolina Adoption Services and Family & Children’s Agency - $9,775
Documentation, Authentications, Mailings, Certication and Authentication Fees- paid to a lot of different places - $1,037
International Facilitation & Placement - paid to Social Welfare Society in Korea - $14,540
Travel Expenses - paid to Korean Air - $3,138
In-Country Expenses - paid to Renaissance Hotel and various businesses in Seoul - $1,000
Post-Placement and Legalization Fees - paid to Durham Clerk of Court and US Homeland Security - $470

Total -  $33,130

How did we do it? Not in the way that we would preferred. We saved a little money (like less than $5,000) and paid cash where it was required. We used a credit card when cash wasnt required. The large fee to SWS needed to be cash (a check) and we wound up taking a line of credit on our house to pay for it. Again, in no way ideal, and probably our last choice of how to do it, but, it worked. We’re paying it all off as we can, and hope to get some reimbursements and money back on our taxes in the future (once we finalize) to pay off larger chunks.

And thats it.