Paperwork. Does anyone like it? Fill out this form for the doctor, please. Fill this out to apply for this job, please. Fill this out to become a member of this gym, please. It’s usually a time-consuming, yet necessary, evil. Am I right? Well, I am here to tell you, friends, that adoption paperwork is no different. I mean, you are adding a person to your family, I think you can manage a few forms. Let me help you out a little…

The Basics

They want your name, your social security number, your birthdate, your address, etc. They need all that basic info that most forms require.

The Deep Dig

They want the deep stuff. The stuff nobody else wants to know, they want to know. Your mom’s maiden name? Yup. Your grandma’s maiden name? Yup. What was your childhood like? Yup. Where did you go to school? Yup. Why do you want to adopt? Yup. Are you married? Yup. What’s that like? Yup. Have you ever cared for children before? Yup. Any other question you can think of? Yup.

Let’s talk money

How much do you have? What’s your monthly budget look like? What bank are you with? How much debt do you have? How long have you held your job? How stable is your job? Do you have pay stubs, because we will need those going back at least 3 months? Do you have a savings? How do you plan to pay the fees of an adoption? Tired of questions, yet? There’s more to come!

The Tough Stuff

The checklist. When my husband and I saw it, we were excited. Oh, man. This was it! We finally got to choose who we wanted to add to our family. A beautiful baby girl or a handsome baby boy, what would we choose? Ahhhh, how exciting…naivete, my friends. It is exciting, but it is also thoroughly depressing to see all the reasons an adoptive parent may say no. You hold the fate of a child in your hands–what you won’t accept and what you will.

Lots and lots and lots

It feels like it never ends. At first, it’s kind of fun because this is a HUGE and AMAZING time in your life. Then, you flip to the 50th form and you just want to bang your head on the table when you read THE SAME QUESTION you just answered on 49 other forms. It’s truth, friends, it is just truth. One nugget you need to remember…

KEEP ALL INFO AND ADOPTION PAPERWORK COPIED, SAVED, EASILY ACCESSIBLE, AND ORGANIZED.

You will need it over and over and over again. Whether it’s for grants, loans, or another adoption agency, keep it all easily accessible.

Adoption paperwork: it can be time-consuming and difficult but oh, so worth it in the end!

Happy adopting!!!

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