Net Worth

No, your net worth should not keep you from adopting. China is more concerned with the income numbers and the point of looking at your net worth is to see if you can afford to take on a child with what is left over each month after your minimum payments have been made. I made alot out of this when we were adopting, and later I realized that I got hung up on that financial statement, when I didn't need to. To expand, you will put down what your house appraised for and what you owe on it. The equity would count towards your net worth, where your student loans would count against it. If you owe 14,000 on the car, but the car is worth 20,000 then you would 6,000 to add to your net worth. All in all you take each asset then deduct what you owe. You add those up, then subtract any unsecured debt (credit cards, student loans, etc.) Hope this helps, please don't do like me and let this one thing hang you up.

I just wanted to chime in as I was worried about this as well. Elemomma explained everything pretty well I just wanted to add that your net worth must be positive. Jewelry, China, etc can all count toward your assets as well. Oh, and my agency did not require a credit check.

Things to include in net worth calculation:Assets:Value of houseValue of car401k/Retirement accountsSavings/Investments/Bonds/Checking accountsLandJewelry/Furniture/other personal belongings Debt:MortgageCar loanStudent loansCredit cards Your net worth does not have to be a big number. It just has to be positive. Assuming your house and car are worth more than you owe on them, you will probably be okay.

Can someone point me in the right direction about what paperwork/financial information will be necessary when we start this process? We are still in the very early stages of doing research. Thanks, Michele

You should get all the necessary forms for your homestudy from your social worker and the necessary forms for your dossier from your agency (our agency does our HS, so we got 2 packets of info). Yes, you will need to fill out a financial statement for both HS and dossier, but as the others have stated, it's nothing to lose sleep over. They just want to know that the child isn't going to a home on the brink of foreclosure or something. Things to gather regardless of the program you enter:[LIST][*]W-2's and 1040's (we needed to provide for past 2 years)[*]Birth Certificates[*]Marraige Certificate[*]Divorce Decree (if applicable)[*]Copies of passports[*]Proof of health insurance[*]Begin outlining the story of your life (no joke...it will make filling out your bio much easier). If you have chosen an agency or SW, see if you can get a copy of their autobiographical questions to get started on.[/LIST](I'm sure I'm forgetting a ton, but that's a start) I also printed out a copy from my money management software with ballpark figures of our investments, vehicle worth, home worth, etc... all the things you hate to think about, but should know anyway. The figure doesn't have to be down to the penny, but it's good to know where you stand. You'll be surprised what your networth is when you get it on paper... Most people are worth more than they think unless they're drowning in credit cards. While we were "getting ready to get ready", I also did the following:[LIST][*]Purchased fire exstingishers (required for homestudy)[*]Made my husband store his hunting shotgun at his parents house[*]Started making a checklist for childproofing[*]Read lots of books on parenting, discipline, China, adoption, special needs, toddlers (Look up rookie parent in the dictionary and there's a picture of me)[*]Tried to practice diapering my dog....Not reccommended.[/LIST]What I've learned so far (and that's not much) is not to sweat the small stuff. I know it sounds cliche', but it's true. There will be plenty more to worry about later!

From my accounting class in college... (dusting off my memory...;) )The value of what you own - what you owe = net worth That said, don't get so caught up on that. China isn't going to do a credit check on you. Our agency didn't either, I can't speak for others, but frankly, I don't think it is a common practice. What China wants to see is that you are financially stable and that when you bring your child home you can provide for her (or him should that be your situation).

I am an accountant so I do a statement regularly of our net worth. Don't laugh! Anyways, when we were told we needed to do a financial statement and prove out networth I was so excited, finally something I am good at! I did a full balance sheet, made copies of our investments, latest valuation of our house, and I could go on...however the SW just looked at it and said "too much info", we just need to make sure you have a positive net worth....so therefore to make it easy:Plus:value of housevalue of cars (you can get this from Blue Book)value of furniture, jewelryinvestments, savings, retirementany other assets you haveLess:MortgageLoansCredit cardsCar loans this would be your net worth....have fun Trish

I just wanted to add an easy way to estimate your household furnishing value is to use the number from your insurance policy for household contents. It may be higher than you would estimate otherwise and you can easily show where you got the number if someone asks how you arrived at your estimate.

On the topic of finances - make sure that your salaries match your W2s and what your social worker has on the homestudy...You need to provide two years worth of tax returns (I think) - and the income should match - OH and your income needs to match your employment verification! We almost had a glitch b/c of some confusion there...Hope that made sense...in essence, make sure all of your numbers match one another.

This was mentioned once, but I wanted to reiterate it because it's the one thing I never thought to do that ended up pushing me into a positive net worth... Get out your homeowner's insurance policy and look to see what value they placed on your belongings (not your actual house, but your household items). Mine was valued WAY higher than I ever would have expected. That number made the difference for me. Good luck!