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Affording Adoption

What Are The Adoption Tax Credit

What Are The Adoption Tax Credit

Adoptive parents may be worried that their decision to adopt may provide them the blessings of parenting a child, but may also leave them destitute in the process. To their benefit, though, the U.S. Federal Government provides a tax credit for adoption. While the adoptive couple may be the ones applying for the adoption tax credit, eligibility for this benefit from the Internal Revenue Service comes not from their status, but from the needs of the child. 
In assessing the viability of kids for adoption tax credits, there are two basic criteria. An adopted child must be less than 18 years of age and/or he or she must be unable to take care of himself/herself (this situation often manifests itself for children with special needs, who may be able to receive additional benefits and for whom the maximum age may be extended). 
The adoption tax credit is designed for expenses that are directly incurred from securing kids for adoption. Therefore, these costs, known officially as “eligible expenses”, are of the kind that adoptive parents will likely be unable to avoid. Agency fees, court costs, the price of an attorney (within reason), and even travel expenses may be reimbursed by the provisions of the tax credit.       
The tax credit for bringing in kids for adoption may be claimed by adoptive parents for different points in the adoption process. For pre-adoption expenses, the credit is taken the following year. As for costs in the year of finalization and post-adoption fees in a subsequent year, credit is awarded that same year. 
It should be noted that there is a maximum amount of money available from the IRS for the adoption tax credit to be applied to a family’s sum total of taxes. It also must be stressed that even after government assistance and other benefits, some expenses may still need to be covered out of pocket.

Your Guide to Getting Help From Banks and Financial Institutions

Your Guide to Getting Help From Banks and Financial Institutions

Oftentimes, adoptive parents will apply for a grant or some other form of assistance from the government or non-profit organizations. While not banks or financial institutions per sé, some non-profit organizations will offer grants and adoption loans to accepted candidates.
It is worth mentioning too that, independent of advertising adoption loans, some banks and financial employers may be of assistance as employers rather than lenders. Certainly, as corporations, national banks must provide unpaid leave by law, but a number of big-market financial institutions offer paid leave for adopters as a benefit of full-time employment. Indeed, some rank in the top 100 of all companies for providing financial assistance to adopting employees in need. 
More appropriate to our concerns, though, adoption loan services are available directly from banks. One notable example is the program set forth by the Bank of America, which coincidentally offers competitive paid adoption leave benefits (in some cases as much as 12 weeks). Partnering with the National Council for Adoption, Bank of America offers adoption loans specifically for adoptive parents. In addition to adoption loans, applicants may use unsecured lines of credit that are renewable.
Prospective adopters are urged to consider that a Government subsidy and an adoption loan are not the same thing. While the former is somewhat of a one-way street in that it does not need to be repaid, an adoption loan will need to be repaid in full and likely with interest. Before signing up for adoption loans, couples should consult with a reliable bank employee or other trustworthy expert to see if this is their best option.

Your Guide to Employer Assistance

Your Guide to Employer Assistance

The average person may be familiar with the concept of maternity or paternity leave for employees who have recently given birth to/fathered a child to help deal with the physical stress of the pregnancy and the demands of an infant. Usually, the new parent will get several weeks to several months off from work to accommodate their incoming family member.
Just the same, especially for adoptive parents who choose infant adoption, adoption assistance may be available in the form of adoption leave. Moreover, for a number of people, this will take the form of adoption financial assistance, as employers will offer paid adoption leave as part of their benefits.
Adoption assistance through employment might seem at first glance to be reserved only for small-scale, community-oriented businesses. On the contrary, though, in terms of benefits like adoption leave, adoption assistance is actually mandated by Federal law. The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 states that employers with 50 or more employees must offer those eligible who apply at least 12 weeks of unpaid maternity, paternity or adoption leave in the event of a live birth or adoption from foster care.         
For help following an adoption, financial assistance may also be available from employers in the form of a lump sum or fixed schedule. Whatever the case, monies will only be awarded to parties that qualify. A company might require, for instance, that their employee work with them for a certain minimum amount of time or that they work full-time to receive benefits of aid for adoption.