Next Steps with Adopting Wenky from Haiti

I have been out of town on business each of the last two weeks with a snow storm in between.  But we have managed to make some progress with adopting Wenky.

I spoke at some length with one of our pastors and our Church does have a fund to help with adoption expenses.  Before we were introduced to the possibility of adopting Wenky, we had planned to stay within the Pennsylvania adoption system.  When we adopt through the state, many of the very important issues are taken care or their status is clear.

Since our first intent is to provide a home for boys who need a home, it is important for me that parental rights are terminated.  We do not want to be in a protracted dispute with the birth parents in the future about custody.  With both of our sons and the boy we are in the process of adopting, the parental rights are terminated, so we do not have that worry about the future.

Pennsylvania also takes care of all the legal fees for children adopted through the state system.  This is no small potential expense.

With Wenky, we are paying for legal expenses, which by our current calculations will be a minimum of $8,000.  The total expense of the adoption will be close to $18,000 as a minimum.  Since our future plans include me working less in order to be home more, more expenses means being home less--we have to earn more money.

So our next step is to confirm Wenky is legally free for adoption and willing to be adopted.  You might be thinking "Shouldn't you know that already?"  We don't.  If adoption looks simple and straightforward from the outside, it's not.

IF Wenky can be adopted, I will go to Haiti to meet him and confirm (as well as I can) that he wants to be adopted and we will go from there.

More later. . .