Todd Hiestand

Guatemala Adoption Process Questions

September 24, 2007

Since our family finalized our adoption and brought our adorable son Mason Carlos home from Guatemala we’ve obviously received a ton of questions about the process.

• The first thing people usually ask is: “How long did it take? ”
  The answer there is: A LONG TIME! We started the process in January of 2006 and Mason came home to Philadelphia in August 2007. We had a number of stalls and a ton of waiting for it all to happen.
• The second thing people usually ask is “how much did it cost?”
  The answer there is rather easy also: A LOT! It’s no secret that a Guatemala adoption costs around $25,000 when all is said and done (adoption fees + travel). We were no exception. We haven’t added up every penny but our process was somewhere near there.
• Naturally, the question comes next: “Why does it cost so much?!”
  To be honest, I don’t have the answer there. My wife knows this answer better than I do but the answer lies in a combination of lawyer fees, official paper processing and foster care. When it all comes down to it, I don’t really care. All I have to do is hold my amazing son in my arms and I know I would have paid 10 times that much if necessary.
• Of course, no one needs to ask the question, “was it worth it?”
  Just take a look at this kid and answer that one for yourself!

So, those are few quick answers to some frequently asked questions.

Oh, and If you are interested in a flow chart of the adoption process, download it here. (I am sure it will make you even more confused!):

Guatemala Adoption Flow Chart - this is a pdf file