Searching for Your Biological Parents

In many cases if your adoption was closed, you can only find information about your birth parents if they file their consent for contact and a waiver of confidentiality with the Department of Social Services. Once both sides have filed their consents, then their identities can be disclosed upon inquiry. If mutual consent has not been given in your case, then you may still be able to petition the court to open the records for you. In your petition, you must state sufficient necessity and compelling reasons why the court should open the records, such as a need to know family medical history. The court has a lot of discretion in determining whether or not to open the records and may even only open some information. For instance, perhaps the court will just open the medical history portions of the records,, but keep the names and addresses of the birth parents confidential. Often, adoptees end up hiring private investigators to help them with their search. For more information about your legal options with regard to your adoption, contact an attorney in your area today.