Month: October 2019

Golden State Partners Discusses if You Can Adopt a Child With Massive Credit Card Debt

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Choosing to adopt a child can prove to be one of the most rewarding decisions that one can make. However, it should be advised that making the choice to adopt a child will be a gargantuan financial undertaking. One of the things that can make caring for a child difficult is the sheer cost to cover their needs.

Of course, many wills ay that the reward of becoming a parent or a parental figure will be worth any cost. While that is admirable, it is important to be prepared and organize your finances. One of the things that can potentially hinder your ability to fully satisfy for your child’s financial needs is having credit card debt. There are many valuable resources such as Golden State Partners that you can use to understand the potential ramifications that credit card debt can bring.

Understand Your Finances

Your current financial situation has to be evaluated so you will be able to prioritize where the money is going to go and how you will pay for what the child needs. If you have not taken a look at debts, including potentially massive credit card debt, now would be the time.

Typically, your finances will have to be restructured, even if you are just accounting for regular expenses such as bills.

If you happen to have crippling credit card debt, that is something that will have to be addressed before you make this decision. Here are some reasons why.

Financial Criteria

Having credit card debt is something that can negatively impact your credit profile and the financial criteria that you need to satisfy in order to be deemed worthy of adopting a child. There are a variety of rules that have to be monitored, and prospective adoptive parents need to research what this criteria may be, as it may vary.

Usually, a rule of thumb is to preemptively prepare by starting a budget and living within your means. If you plan to adopt a child with massive amounts of credit card unaddressed, your financial responsibilities may be sporadic.

Once you adopt a child, it instantly becomes one of your top priorities. You cannot afford to adopt a child while having to worry about debt that you have.

Can You Be Approved for Adoption with Credit Card Debt?

Can you truly be approved for adoption if you have credit card debt? The fact of the matter is that it truly depends on the extent of your financial situation. A specific income requirement is not actually specified, but you will undergo a thorough assessment in order to prove that you have the resources at your disposal necessary to raise a child.

If you are still having to make payments on your credit card, it could potentially impact your income, but according to financial criteria, having credit card debt specifically is not something that can prevent you from adoption. More specifically, you will be look at the ratio of your income to debt. If the amount of debt you have is pretty close to the income that you have, it means you are not netting anything for other expenses.

Credit card debt is one factor that can influence expenses, and if you need further clarity to handle this debt, you can consult Golden State Partners

What Happens if You Divorce During Your Adoption Journey

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According to adoption rights advocate, Sharla Kostelyk, indications are that adoptions processes are so stressful on marriages that they can lead to divorce. Kostelyk has gone through the adoption process five times and is the proud parent of five special-needs children. Factors that are marriage stressors during adoption include financial issues, conflicts between spouses about how or if to adopt as well as the entire issue of the public scrutiny that comes with adoption, including the social worker’s home visitation.

Here at the Tampa divorce lawyer offices of Quinn & Lynch P.A., we field questions from prospective parents who are working their way through the adoption process but have decided to divorce. They want to know how divorce will affect adoption. The answer is that it depends upon the type of adoption that will occur if you and your spouse divorce.

Stepparent Adoption

In the case of a stepparent adoption, the court will usually stop the adoption process in the event of the divorce of the birth parent of the child and the stepparent. There are no states that allow stepparent adoptions to proceed when the stepparent and birth parent are divorcing or have divorced.

International Adoption

Whether an international adoption can go forward when the prospective parents are about to divorce will be entirely based upon the laws of the country of the child’s birth. Many countries will end the adoption process. Some countries will not even allow previously divorced people to adopt children, even if they are re-married.

Adoption Through an Agency or Contractual Adoption

Legal Zoom explains that the birth parents may no longer support the adoption if their child will not be going to a home with two parents. Legal Zoom also warns prospective adoptive parents to disclose their impending divorce because the entire adoption process can be overturned if there was fraud or non-disclosure on the part of the couple trying to adopt.

Also, adoption agency rules may be more stringent than those in the case of adopting foster children. Nolo suggests that the spouse that would like to continue with the adoption needs to make a very good case why it is in the child’s best interest to still be adopted a single parent.

Obviously, when you make the revelation of your impending divorce, it will naturally cause a delay in the adoption process, as the stakeholders are faced with further decisions about what is truly best for the child.

Adoption of Foster Children

In the case of foster children, the state is or will be severing the birth parents’ rights, so birth parents cannot oppose the adoption. The judge will have to make a determination if the adoption will still be in the child’s best interests.

Federal Adoption Assistance

In the event that prospective parents who were on the verge of adopting a child were to divorce, Legal Zoom explains that there may be an issue with Title IV-E Adoption Assistance funds. These are funds that are provided to adoptive parents and are supposed to go for the benefit of the child. One issue in the event of a divorce of adoptive parents is how this federal assistance is allocated and how that would affect any child support.

At the Tampa divorce lawyer offices of Quinn & Lynch P.A., we are here to support you through the difficult questions you face in your divorce. Call us and let us help you navigate this stressful time. We can help present a case for adoption and a new adoption plan to a judge or adoption agency