You are ready to open your arms to a young life that will become part of your family. Congratulations. You are thinking about adopting a child, and that is a wonderful thing. However, there are some factors that you have to take into consideration when you decide to adopt a child. If you have already attended an informational meeting, you know a few things about adoption, but there is more. Adoption can be a lengthy process. Adopting a child begins with the desire to become a parent, and is followed by some questions: should one adopt domestically or internationally? What are the costs? Requirements? And the biggest question of all, how to get started?

Okay, let us start from the very beginning. Adopting a child has to be the decision of the couple. The desire to make a united family has to be strong for both of the prospective parents. The next step is to find a credible adoption organization and/or lawyer. You will probably want to interview several before choosing to proceed with one or the other.

The organization you choose will likely give you an evaluation meant to determine if you are ready to adopt a child. Here are the factors that are usually considered when evaluating you and your spouse for adoption:

-  marital status: if you are a single person, your chances are low. They consider that two parents can offer more attention and financial resources, than a single one.

- Length of the marriage: this is an important factor, the requirement is to have at least three years of marriage. At this point they will ask you about your previous marriage, if you had one, or not. But if you have a stable relationship with your husband/wife, this should not present a problem.

- Age: there is a legal age for this action, you must be at least 18, and no more than 40 years old. If you are close to 40 you have more chances, because maturity is seen as a positive factor in adopting a child.

- Health: you have to present your medical records and must be healthy. Some of the agencies have criteria for weight. Since being overweight or underweight affects longevity and quality of life, anorexia or obesity is not a winning factor in these cases.

Adoption agencies want to place children with healthy, happy adoptive parents, who can provide a stable environment. When doing evaluations, they are looking for couples who can create a safe place for the child. For this reason, adoption is not only an exhausting process, it is extremely expensive.

The financial part of adopting a child can be very difficult, because this procedure can be quite expensive, although the cost varies on the adoption type. Adopting a child from foster care may be a less expensive. You may also save money by adopting an older child, vs. a newborn.