Has anyone on here ever been involved with this? Adopted/fostered, or been adopted/fostered?
The big questions I have:
When? I know this will be a financial investment, moreso the adoption than fostering. The longer I wait, the more people I'll be financially able to help as there will be more wealth to start with. However, there is need out there now that I can resolve. We have a three bedroom home, and once our tenant (my wife's coworker) moves out, we'll have two empty bedrooms with a bathroom in between. There's even a little living room up there we have no real use for at present - it feels absurd to let it sit empty for long.
Adopt vs Foster? There's risk any time you bring someone into your home. We're going to a meeting about the process next week, but my understanding is that a foster child is not a legal family member - thus if they do anything stupid, the liability can't come back to me. I want my wife to have a comfortable life and retirement someday, and while we're willing to delay it to help these kids, I don't want to jeopardize everything by putting our financial future in the hands of an apathetic/ignorant kid. That would also severely limit the help we can offer other kids.
Any feedback?