Adoption with Bankruptcy

Personally if I was at the point of bankruptcy adoption would be the last thing on my mind. Especially if I already kids already. And to answer your question I know a couple who did try to adopt and were denied because of filing bankruptcy.

I think that it's more than possible that bankruptcy would affect your possible adoption negatively, but you would need to speak with an adoption lawyer familiar with adopting through state agencies.

any type of Financial problem is grounds for denial. They will thoroughly check it.

http://www.theadoptionguide.com/process/articles/survivin...

Have you already gone through the process to become certified to foster/adopt?

We have just begun the process in our state - and it can take quite a while... there are classes you have to go through, home visits etc.

We did have to fill out a financial worksheet and also authorize a background/credit check. I'm not sure what they look for.... obviously in this economy there are many people who declare bankruptcy, so I would imagine your *reasons* would be more important than the fact that you actually filed.

If I were you.... I would draft a letter of explanation that can be put in your file so that they are aware of exactly what the situation is and how you have handled it / changed behavior so that you don't get yourself in the same position again.

I would anticipate that your home study would not be approved to adopt while having this type of financial difficulty. It is also possible that having a 6 week old would impact the ability to adopt, as well. I did not adopt domestically, but I think a lot of the paperwork required for homestudies is the same whether domestic or international adoption. For international, I had to prove my employment, prove my income, prove a positive net worth, and provide a notarized letter from my mortgage company showing that my mortgage was current and paid as agreed. That was just a portion of just the financial part...there was so much more besides financial requirements.
Whether domestic or international, a child who needs a family needs a family. However, since these children have already had such hard starts in life, the process to adopt them is stringent to ensure that they are placed into stable homes that are prepared to meet all their unique physical and emotional needs. If you have a heart for adoption, definitely investigate and learn all that you can about parenting an adopted child. This child may not be the one for your family, as this may not be the right time, but maybe he came in your life as a catalyst for you to begin earnestly investigating. By the way, nearly 1/3 of the population considers adoption, but less than 2% actually adopts. If you have that desire, please do investigate how to make that happen.

It's possible that the bankruptcy could be an issue. By the time bankruptcy occurs, a family is so finacially devastated that they are having problems meeting basic needs such as food and clothing. There will be a concern that one more mouth to feed could land you in such a situation again.

Well, you can always try.
You will probably have a better chance if it has been a few years since the bankruptcy and you have improved your credit and demonstrated that you can be responsible with money.
Saying that the bankruptcy was solely for reasons beyond your control is not exactly demonstrating responsibility. If you decide to go forward at this point you better fess up to the role that your bad decisions contributed to this, rather than trying to place the blame somewhere else. The adoption agency does not want to hear that you are not in control of your own lives...
In the end much depends on how much demand there is in your region. In some places they may not even look at your application if your credit report comes back, in other places they may consider giving you a chance to explain yourselves.
In any case, it will take time, so it is unlikely that you will get to adopt the child that you have in mind at this point.
Good luck.

Hi there- how awesome that you are considering adopting this little boy! If it's through CPS, you should be assigned a caseworker, and you should hopefully be able to ask him/her their opinion of this before you get too far in the process.

We are in the process of adopting as well, and they haven't gone over our finances with a fine tooth comb. No credit reports, nothing. They do ask if we are able to financially provide for a child.

Also, we have friends who recently adopted two girls through CPS. They have a bankruptcy from maybe 3-4 years ago, as well as a judgment. Despite this, they were approved and finalized the adoption last July.

So basically, I'm not sure with your specific situation, only your county caseworker will be able to tell you for sure. But I wanted you to know that there is always hope, and they usually consider the big picture of your life, so it's certainly worth asking!

Good luck to you!

We just finalized an adoption through CPS. We had to provide a budget as part of our training and home study, but no credit reports or anything like that. Kade is right; you need to talk with the Social Worker and see what the requirements are in Texas. I also agree with Anita ... The 6-week old mat preclude your ability to provide for a foster child, who WILL require more attention than you may be able to provide him right now.

We adopted my nephew via CPS and they checked our financial records in depth. It may be a problem for you if you have a bankruptcy. I guess you could ask the CPS case worker for his/her opinion on the matter.