[Lynard1210]

Hi everyone. I have petitioned the court in Cook County, IL by writing a simple petition (which my adoptive mother also signed) and filing it with the Clerk's Office. Of course, as expected, I was denied my information but received a letter from the Judge telling me that I was entitled to my medical information from the adoption agency (already knew that!). IMO, petitioning the court is a waste of time - i knew that when i did it - but it was a step that helped me to take some ownership for what i believe to be my right and also to prepare me for possible later rejections when I found my family. My research shows that the majority of judges in our country will deny these petitions. I got the same runaround with the IL Dept of Health. They give you so much paperwork to fill out that you become exhausted and barely want to bother to fill out the info. If you are lucky enough that your birth family filled out the same voluminous amount of paper, then the state of IL is kind enough to "match" you. (in other words, you need your birth family's permission to get your records). Another waste of my time. Your time, energy and money is probably better spent in hiring a private investigator or hiring the adoption agency (if there is one) to search.

My adoption certificate states "baby girl ____" and these papers were given to my parents from the lawyer. At least in Illinois, the name is not blacked out. I'm dismayed to hear that some people's are blacked out. Most lawyers are not going to release any information due to attorney/client privilege. My best friend tried that route and it was a dead end.

Don't give up . . there are public records and as an attorney friend of mine told me, there is a record of you somewhere before your adoption papers were sealed. You were born and somewhere, someplace there is a paper trail!

[amyadoptee]

What kind of non identifying information do you have? Texas has a birth, death, marriage, and divorce indices. I have a web page that you can get to easily and for free. my email addy is amyburt40@yahoo.com I will be glad to help any Texan get their information

[bostonboylost]

I just got my request form from Department of Social Services in MA for non identifying info and in bold it says" it will take 5-6 months to return information" Is this true?

[Jerry Quinton]

Probate court: A court having general powers over probate of wills, administration of estates, and in some states, empowered to appoint guardians or approve the adoption of miners.

I hope this helps you. I got it out of the Black's Law Dictionary. Sixth Edition

[bostonboylost]

I do beleive just that, somewhere before I was adopted, there is record of me. Did They also change my social security number when I was adpoted?

[bostonboylost]

I'm from Boston origanally, I havent received my non identofying onfo yet. I just sent it it and it said in bold "will take 5-6 months for a responce" crazy world.

[MissyJ]

Originally Posted by bostonboylost

I just got my request form from Department of Social Services in MA for non identifying info and in bold it says" it will take 5-6 months to return information" Is this true?

Sorry, in many cases it does. This is when you learn "patience."

Your SSN would not have been changed. Since the practice of receiving SSNs within days of birth didn't happen until recently, I don't know about that. Will PM you on that one.

When I called "my" adoption agency, I was told by the SW that it would take from 6 months to a year due to all the requests. She had a backlog, and there were budget cuts (not surprising, as they had made national news for budget cuts).

Because I had a health problem, the SW expedited it, and all was received in 4 months.

Let me know what you find out in Boston. When researching my father-in-law's adoption (Brockton/Boston), we were told that his records would be made available 100 years after the adoption.

Missy

[MandaPanda83]

I have a few questions about petitioning the courts. Being in FL, I've read that it is very rare for them to open the records. Especially if it's not for a medical emergency.

Aside from being curious, my husband and I are talking about starting our own little family soon. I've had some odd medical issues over the years (chest pains, knee problems, ect) and my biological sister also adopted out(we found each other here. yay!) has had joint problems as well. Would that constitute as a medical reason to open the records? What little information I have from the adoption agency, doesn't give much health info. Says parents had no known allergies...but I have several.

Also, do I just go the court records? The adoption took place in Orange County, FL. Do I need to get a lawyer?

Thank you sooooo much for any help. I'm so lost when it comes to cutting through all the red tape, no idea where to start.

[FAYE56]

I'm not looking to discourange anyone, but I had my records unsealed (off the record). I petitioned probate court in New Jersey last year because earlier in the year I discovered and been treated for Colon Cancer.
The Probate Judge told me that if I had come to him for curiosity, "right to know"........he wouldn't have even heard me out, but since he believes that we "Adoptees" have a right to this information when medically indicated.

He (verbally) gave me my birth mothers name, where she was from and her birthday. There was no information in my records regarding my birthfather. My information was "off the record". As far as the State of NJ is concerned my records are still sealed.

[c3hollar]

I was just wondering if you are male or female?and how old you are, i placed a son up for adoption in 87, and I have had issues with colon cancer, and it runs in my family. I hope you find what you are looking for, sincerly,c3hollar

[Cougar]

I totally agree. I went before the judge last month. I put medical information and history. The judge made me feel one inch tall. He said things to me like, what guarantee do I have you aren't going to make trouble for this lady. I don't know if medical information is a good reason. I finally broke down crying in front of him. I finally said, I am 39 years old if I wanted to start "trouble" I would have done it long ago. Please unseal the records and let me contact her to get more information. He finally did. I got the name.

However, I don't know if it is my mother's maiden name or my father's name. Does anyone know? It just says Infant Girl DeSanto is hereby given to...

Thanks,
Cougar

[Cougar]

Mandapanda,
Be prepared. I am having trouble conceiving and went before the court because I also have diabetes. The judge wasn't going to let me have the records because of medical issues. I had to break down in tears and I think that made him weak. He wasn't going to release them to me. Then I only got one document which was the adoption decree.

[Lynard1210]

Cougar,

DeSanto would likely be your birth mother's maiden last name if she was not married. If she was married to your birth father, it could be her married last name. In my case, I was called "Baby Girl Unger" on my adoption papers. It did not help me locate my birth mom because she was married a year after she placed me so I couldn't track anyone down by using Unger. My caseworker found her under quickly under her married name. You are fortunate that DeSanto doesn't sound as common as some. And if she has any brothers, you could start looking that route or if her father is possibly still living. . .men are easier to trace. Good luck!

[KisaMogwai]

Originally Posted by smplmind

I am having the same problem with opening sealed records. In my case I actually have the Final Decree of Adoption. On this doument my original last name was blacked out. I went to the clerk of courts office where a secretary actually looked at the original...told me yes your real name is there but I can't tell you without a court order. I currently have the private attorney that handled my adoption petitioning the court to get permission to release my own records to me. He has them...I have seen the folder and have been told everything possible that he can and still protect everyone even her date of birth...the only thing he could not tell me legally are the names. So far 1 judge has said NO! NOT FOR ANY REASON EVEN MEDICAL! but now we are trying a different judge. There is alot of information that can be obtained thru the attorney if you can find them. My next attempt may be to persue the fact that my Birth mom was only 15 when I was born, does anyone here have experience where there mom was a minor and her parents signed the documents in order for them to be sealed? Since she was a minor at the time the records were signed would this have any bearing on whether or not the documents are actually legal.

does it bother anyone else that two complete strangers are able to look at your information without having to petition anyone but it's about you and you're not allowed to know anything? it's so infuriating to have to pay to find out anything.. it took me 6 yrs to request a form to petition the court and request non-id info just out of resentment.. but when i got back a reply stating there was 'no record found'....i got angry..now i'm on a mission..and i was told that i have to contact the county where my adoptive parents lived as opposed to the county where i was born... when i asked my adopted father about why they would have told me there was no record found.. his response was that part of the provisions of the court to further protect the identities of the birthmothers was to put all of the records in a warehouse unsorted so that even if someone wanted to look it would take them years or luck to find anything....he even said that 'someone' (he never said who) had tried to research it and been told that they were 'welcome to look'...of course the courts deny this took place...talk about a big mess..i've thought about just getting a janitorial job in the hospital or courthouse just so i can steal a peek at the records like any common clerk...i mean how can that be ok? if the records are 'sealed' shouldn't they be sealed to everyone? not just the adoptee? makes no sense to me..
i can't wait til all these Jim Crow laws are off the books..
i was hoping the Freedom of Information Act would help us out in this regard but that only applies to federal agencies...makes me wish adoption laws weren't at the state level...and trust me there are few things i wish the federal government had a bigger hand in...i wonder how many adoptees have died... simply because they didn't have a proper medical history
i was told that my mother was also 15 when she had me..so i have often wondered/assumed that her parents probably checked 'no' for her...it's part of why it took me so long to bother to search... why go through all the hassle if they can still tell you no?
i hope you are right and that being a minor would void the contract but... in all actuality... in most cases where a minor is involved parental consent is taken...so...
the outcome looks grim i'm afraid...
i wish you all the luck in the world in your search...

'ya say ya wanna revolution yeah well baby ya know...
we all wanna change the world....'

[shadeinfla]

You took the words right out of my mouth! I have been searching for my husband's family on his behalf for over 3years now. The fact that some complete strangers in Jacksonville employed by The Childrens Home Society have actually spoken with my husbands birth parents and he can not even know their intitials much less their name? This is just plain W R O N G !,

And it is not only two people who know , lets see there are [b]four current case workers, atleats three more from 1958 who know the name of his birth parents, two attorneys, [b]numerous people [b]who worked at FCH in 1958 the other birth mothers at FCH,the staff of FCH, the spangler family who were his foster parents for the first six weeks of his life, the nurses and doctors at the hospital ,birth moms family, her friends, the birth father, his friends, his family, extended family , the hospital workers, the judge, the clerk of the court at the time of the adoption, the person at vital Stats that issues a new bc and sealedthe original. And that is only to name a few! Some secret when all those people know. I am with you , I would rather less federal government in our lifes , but in this case knowing if my husband had been born in one of the five states where adoptees that have unrestricted access to their OBC at maturity,he would
have the right to this OBC and know his birth parents names ,this really botheres and upsets me! I too wish
adoption laws where handled on as federal level.

But who knows, maybe then those five states would still be in the dark ages like the other 45 states. I am happy for adoptees that live in those states, I hope they know how lucky they are,they have a right all adoptees deserve. Boy you really hit a nerve on this one.....

Best
Shade