The adoption tax credit offsets qualified adoption expenses, making adoption possible for some families who could not otherwise afford it. Taxpayers who adopt a child may qualify for an enhanced adoption tax credit for tax year 2011.

Generally, you may qualify for the adoption credit if you adopted a child and paid qualified expenses relating to the adoption. The amount of the tax credit is as much as $13,360 for 2011. If you attempt to adopt a U.S. child, you may be able to claim the credit even if the adoption does not become final. If you adopt a U.S. child with special needs, you may qualify for the full amount of the adoption credit even if you paid few or no adoption-related expenses, if the adoption is final. A child is a U.S. child if he or she was a citizen or resident of the United States (including U.S. possessions) at the time the adoption attempt began.

For 2011, you may not get the full amount of the adoption credit if your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) is more than $185,210 and the credit is completely phased out if your MAGI is more than $225,210.

For more information visit http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Adoption-Benefits-FAQs

Help With Calculating Your Adoption Tax Credit

• Calculating your Adoption Tax Credit (US Government IRS Form) http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8839.pdf
• Instructions for calculating your Adoption Tax Credit (US Government IRS Form) http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i8839.pdf

Adoption Tax Credit Tips 

• Top Ten Tips For Avoiding Delays When Filing For The Adoption Tax Credit. From the adoption support group Creating a Family.

Children Available: Age: 24 months and older; sibling groups available.

Parent Requirements: 25-50 years of age. Married couples and single women.

Family Considerations: You may have up to four children living at home at the time of your adoption.

Estimated Process Timeline:

• From dossier to referral: 4-6 weeks
• From referral to travel: 2 to 4 weeks

Travel: 2 trips required – 1^st trip estimated 2 weeks, 2^nd trip estimated 10 days. (Due to legislative changes, timing listed may be subject to change.)

Program & Process: As the families completed their dossier, IFS will submit it for registration with the National Adoption Authority through the Ministry of Social Protection. Referrals are expected approximately 4-6 weeks after the dossier is submitted. Information about the child will consist of medical reports and pictures. Court takes place only in Chisinau.

The Republic of Moldova is a Hague Convention country.  IFS is a COA Hague Accredited Agency. Under our accredited status, IFS can accept new applications as a primary, accredited provider from families who want to adopt from Moldova.

IFS is officially accredited and approved as an agency by “Catre Ministerial Protectiei Sociale Familiei Si Copilului, Sectia Adopti” in Republic of Moldova.

While in Moldova, you may stay in the IFS guest house. Your stay for the second trip will be approximately 10 business days.

Post-adoption reports with photos of the child are required for up to three years after the adoption. One final report is submitted at the fifth year. You must register your child at the Moldova Embassy in the U.S. within 30 days of your arrival home.

Two trips are required. 1st trip – meet the child, spend time with the child and file petition to adopt. This is completed in 10 – 14 days. 2nd trip – Court, visa, home in approximately 10 days.

The IFS India program is like two adoption  programs under one roof.

The 1st program focuses on Indian families living in the US who have received the designation from the Indian government as NRI (Non-Resident Indian – A citizen of India, holding an Indian passport, but residing abroad) or OCI (Overseas Citizen of India). To know if you qualify under one of these designations visit the Indian Embassy webpage at www.indianembassy.org.

In general the Indian government allows these families to adopt children who are either non-special needs children and/or special needs children.

The 2nd program accommodates families who do not meet the above definitions (NRI or OCI). These families may adopt children who are considered Special Needs Children. Special Needs Children can include children with the following needs: minor, fixable and/or manageable, physical and/or medical special needs, older “healthy” children (typically 6 and older), “healthy” siblings, or children with more significant needs. See IFS Special Needs Adoptions for a much more detailed and expanded understanding of special needs adoptions.

About the Children:

The children in India are entirely of Indian descent. Most of these children are of fairer complexion, some are dark skinned, and all have black hair, dark eyes and beautiful features. Boys and girls range in age from 9 months-12 years, however, by the time a child arrives in the U.S., the children will usually be a minimum of 18 months old. Please contact IFS for current time lines. Government guidelines require all adoptive parents to travel to India to pick up their children.  Our IFS families travel to New Delhi to be met by our IFS India staff.

IFS Accreditation and Indian License

India is a Hague Convention country. This means that US agencies who conduct adoptions from India must be accredited by the U.S. Department of State via the Council on Accreditation.  IFS is a COA Hague Accredited Agency. Under our accredited status, IFS can accept new applications as a primary, accredited provider from families who want to adopt from India. IFS is also officially licensed and approved as an AFAA (Authorized Foreign Adoption Agency) licensed by CARA (Central Adoption Resource Authority), the Central Authority for adoptions in India.

Requirements for Adopting Parent(s):

• It is required that couples be married for at least 2 years of stable marital relationship.
• There can be no more than 45 years difference between the parent and the child. (For instance, a 50 year old must adopt a 5 year old or older, etc.)
• Must be between 25 – 45 years of age (married couples) if adopting a child under 4 years of age.
• One applicant must be a U.S. citizen.
• Up to 2 children in the home are allowed (preferred), however, exceptions can be made, especially for Special Needs adoptions.
• Single women between 30 – 45 may adopt.

Upcoming Exploring the Adoption Adventure Dates:

• Saturday Morning, May 18, 10:00 AM Central Time
• Monday Evening, May 20, 8:00 PM Central Time

Register me!

When we receive your registration we will send you (by email) the conference call information. For more info call 512-310-9138.

Come back again for more updates. Plan to bring a friend.

Single women may now adopt special focus children from China’s Special Needs System. She may only adopt one special focus child at a time.

The applicant must

• be at least 30 years old; for those over 50, the age difference between the parent and child shall not be more than 45 years (same as couples),
• provide a certified statement that she is single and not homosexual (new)
• be physically and mentally healthy and be of good moral quality (same as couples)
• have an income of at least $10,000/year for each household member and net worth of at least $100,000 (couples only need net worth of $80,000),
• have experience in child care or be employed in child-related fields (such as doctor, nurse, teacher, child psychologist or counselor, etc.; best to have experience in caring for children with special needs) (new),
• have no more than 2 other children under age 18 years of age, the youngest being at least 6 years old (new), and
• be prepared to parent a special focus child.

Additionally, the applicant must

• provide her well-considered rationale for parenting a special focus child (same as couples),
• provide her rationale for choosing to be single, her attitude toward marriage, a clear indication of her willingness to designate male role models for the child and welcome male friends at family gatherings (new),
• receive additional training for special needs children (new),
• provide a detailed care and rehabilitation plan (same as couples),
• provide a written statement of consent from appointed guardian.

Finally, if a woman has a stable relationship with a live-in male partner, she will have to meet the same requirements as a couple (new).

For more information, see the CCAA Notice.

This page is intended for general educational purposes only and is not a substitute for legal advice. Adoptive parents and other interested parties are advised to consult an attorney. Attorneys listed in this document are offered as suggested referrals for interested parties. International Family Services neither endorses or recommends them other than to suggest that they have some experience in family law as it applies to children adopted from abroad by Texas families. Families should confirm the services and fees offered with the attorneys themselves.

Readoption
There is no TX law on ‘readoption.’ It has been done, however, in one of two ways,
a) reterminate birth parents’ rights (via publication) in Texas, then complete a Texas adoption; or
b) prove the acceptability of birth parents’ termination of parental rights in foreign country, then complete a Texas adoption.

There are a couple of attorneys in Houston area who have been used by families of international adoption. Contact them find out which method they use along with their fees.
Royal Law Firm, Houston
Ellen Yarrell, Houston
Greg Hughes, Friendswood

North Texas
Susan Paquet
Fort Worth, TX
(817) 338-4888

Texas Certificate of Foreign Birth
Texas families may seek to file papers to get a Texas birth certificate under SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 162, Family Code, Sec.162.023, ADOPTION ORDER FROM FOREIGN COUNTRY, to register the foreign adoption order and file a certificate of birth for the child (see the attached TX Foreign Adoption Law Pass.pdf for details).

Texas Administrative Code allows for a Texas court to authenticate the adoption papers of a child adopted from abroad. The adoptive parents can then submit a court order for the Texas Bureau of Vital Statistics to issue a “Certificate of Foreign Birth” for their child.

The resulting document looks similar to a Texas birth certificate but will not indicate Texas as the place of birth.

It appears that the key to this process is locating a judge who is willing to find “that all of the prerequisites of the law have been fully complied with by petitioners and that said order of adoption was and is legally valid and of full force and effect under the laws of the United States of America and of the State of Texas.”

Many families feel that obtaining a Texas certificate of foreign birth will be helpful for local purposes (school and sports enrollments, etc.). However, this probably will not be sufficient for purposes of obtaining a U.S. passport (for information on obtaining a U.S. passport for an internationally adopted child, see http://travel.state.gov/childcitfaq.html). Nor does this qualify as a ‘readoption.’

See the file, TXCert ForeignBirth TAC app.pdf, which explains this process.
It contains a copy of the relevant page from the Texas Administrative Code, 25 TAC 181.29 (source: http://info.sos.state.tx.us/pls/pub/readtac$ext.viewtac, accessed 10/8/07).
It also contains copies of two pages
Application for order (sample)
Court order (sample)
(source: Bureau of Vital Statistics, Austin, TX)

If you need a Certificate of Citizenship for your child, the fees will also be increasing (for more information on your child’s citizenship, see http://jcics.org/Certificate.htm).