Search Results for: blog getting paid to adopt

A Big Difference for Adopting Parents: the Adoption Tax Credit Renewed and Expanded

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Whatever you think of the new health care legislation, adoptive parents will realize one benefit: the Adoption Tax Credit, which was set to expire this year, will be renewed through December 21, 2011. The maximum reimbursable limit for adoption-related expenses was raised from $12, 150 to $13, 170. In addition, the Adoption Tax Credit will benefit families who have no taxes or a very small amount of taxes due, because it is now refundable. The credit lessens for adopters with income of over$ 180,000 per year, and continues to lessen as incomes go up until it is eventually phased out. … Continue reading →

Adoption Tax Credit

Many people who hear how expensive adoption is do not realize what a dramatic difference the adoption tax credit makes. The tax credit for adoption is $10,000. This is not a deduction where you deduct adoption expenses from your taxable income. This is an actual credit, meaning you pay less money in taxes. For most people, that means you will be getting quite a refund! This one-time tax credit is available to those who adopt internationally as well as those who adopt US infants or US children in foster care, unlike the ongoing monthly subsidies for medical or psychological care … Continue reading →

Frugal Valentines Blogs

Happy Valentine’s Day! I hope your day is filled with lots of good things. Here we are battling lots of snow. Yesterday, I paid a group of kids $15 to shovel the walk, and it was not very frugal. They did a very poor job. So, I was very resigned to having to shovel the rest of the snow today. Wow, as I was writing this, my very great neighbor knocked on the door. He offered to move my car so he could use his snow blower on the street. He already did our walk and the sidewalks on the … Continue reading →

Adoption and Your Employer

Ed Paul’s recent Blog On Having a Calling made me smile. Our adoption stories are as much the same as they are different. We both raised biological children but found a good reason to become adoptive parents. He was able to retire and share his calling with his co-workers but, I had a very different experience. In my last position in a large Insurance Brokerage I knew I had been hired in part because, my biological children were old enough to drive me to work! It was very clear during the interviewing process that I was well liked, however there … Continue reading →

Adoption Subsidy Payments

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A very interesting article appeared in the adoption blog this morning. Some of the points intrigued me enough to write about how I feel about the subject. What got my attention was the idea that some people think that adoption subsidies and assistance are not justified. Our family is paid an adoption subsidy and given other benefits such as Medicaid and I do not feel like I need to apologize to anyone for taking it. Historically, these benefits came with every child that was adopted. We have very good friends that adopted twelve years ago. They are fairly affluent people, … Continue reading →

Getting Paid To Adopt?

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Many families who adopt special needs children through their state receive a monthly check even after the finalization. Some people become irritated when learning this. I’ve heard the argument, “I don’t get paid to raise my kid,” and frankly, I can understand the feelings behind such comments. There are many parents who give birth to special needs children and don’t get monthly support in the form of a check. As an adoptive parent I’ve struggled with receiving certain assistance for my children. We did not adopt our children as a charity; we didn’t need the money. We wanted to be … Continue reading →

Adoptive Parents Need Rest

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The adoption community uses a term that describes a brief rest from duty for adoptive parents. Respite is defined as a short time of relief from a difficult assignment. It is absolutely necessary for adoptive parents to occasionally be able to take it easy for a while. Our first respite weekend came as a surprise. As a Christmas present, our grown children arranged for us to have a Saturday night at the finest hotel in Galveston. They stayed with our crew and paid for a meal at a fine restaurant. It’s about a two hour drive down there from our … Continue reading →

Our 2nd Annual “I Will Not Be Selfish” Event

This weekend my family participated in our second annual “I will not be selfish” event. Okay, it’s really called “Adopt-a-Family” but my family has inherited its own title. Last December was the first time we participated. It involved going to a place in a part of our city we wouldn’t normally be in. It involved spending a portion of our day serving others. It involved giving…in other words, being selfless. When our children first learned of this event last year, they were horrified. In fact, two of my children had especially bad attitudes about it. One declared that the scowl … Continue reading →

My Next Chapter

After my biological parents divorced, my mother’s high school boyfriend came for a visit, proposed, and she married him. I have memories of getting a birthday card from a new grandmother wishing me happy fourth birthday with an elephant beating a drum as I boarded the Amtrak train to Los Angeles, California. My new father and my mother decided to have him adopt me in order to obtain complete custody of me and my sister. Thus I now have birth certificates from two U.S. states. My second father seemed to try harder, and was more consistent. He paid the bills, … Continue reading →

Tips for Flying with Pets

Every time I fly somewhere I always swear I’m never going to do it again. It’s not so much being in the plane itself, but all the stress that comes with it: baggage check, connecting flights, delayed flights, etc. Attempting to cruise the skies with pets adds another major burden to the process. I have a friend here in Maryland who is a cat lover. She adores getting to cat-sit for friends. But she’s a British citizen who will be going home in a few years, and she won’t get a cat for herself until she does so. It’s all … Continue reading →