Making Life RICH:: That is a lot of stinkin' money!!!

Hey Friends and Family!

I will first say that my Mom, Barbara Pon, made the suggestion that I write this blog...and for good reason. Some of you have probably wondered why an adoption would cost as much as $30,000. That is a large sum of money! Each adoption agency Kristen and I have communicated with has provided their "fee schedule." The fee schedule is an estimated set of costs that are expected to be paid at certain times throughout the adoption process. What I want to do is share with you what we are looking at regarding the fee schedule. I'll first give you a few interesting statistics I have found:

Between 1999-2011, U.S. families completed a total of 233,934 international adoptions.
Between 1999-2011, U.S. families completed a total of 582 adoptions from Ghana, Africa (Male: 263, Female: 319).
In 2011, adoption agencies reported charging between zero dollars and $64,357 for all adoption services, with half charging less than $26,559.50 and half charging more.
In 2011, the median cost to adopt from the Netherlands was $6,750, Canada $20,000, and South Africa $26,063.

That being said, here is what a fee schedule generally includes:

Service	Fee
Agency Fee	$5,750
Express Mail Fee	$225
Wire Fee	$600
Post Placement Fees	$1,400
Total Agency Fee	$7,975
Dossier Submission	$3,500
Referral Acceptance	$2,000
Host Fees	$5,000
Final Fees	$2,000
Total International Fees	$12,500
Foster Fees	$1,350
School Fees	$540
Travel Expenses	$10,000
Total:	$32,365