Relating to adoption, including access to adoption records for adult adoptees

The bill eliminates this definition of “adult”, thereby defining adult as a person who is married or 18 years of age or older consistently throughout the chapter. The bill also provides additional means of allowing a permanent adoption record to be open to an adopted person who is an adult. Current law provides that the court shall, for good cause, order the opening of the permanent adoption record for an adopted person who is an adult and reveal the names of either or both of the biological parents following consideration of the affidavit of a biological parent requesting that the court reveal or not reveal the parent’s identity and consideration of the fact that the adopted person who files the application has a sibling who is a minor and who has been adopted by the same parents. Under the bill, the court would no longer require good cause based upon these considerations, but instead, upon the filing of an affidavit by the adopted person who is an adult, the court would open the permanent adoption records for the adopted person. The bill also amends the provisions relating to the court opening termination or adoption records if the opening is shown to be necessary to save the life of or prevent irreparable physical or mental harm to an adopted person or the person’s offspring. Current law requires the court to make every reasonable effort to prevent the identity of the biological parents from becoming revealed to the adopted person when such opening of the record is allowed. The bill would only require the court to make every reasonable effort to prevent the identity of the biological parents from becoming revealed to the adopted person when the adopted person is a minor, but not when the adopted person is an adult. Current law also includes a mutual consent provision under which a permanent adoption record may be opened and reveal the names of either or both of the biological parents if a biological parent places in the adoption record written consent to revelation of the biological parent’s identity to the adopted child at an age specified by the biological parent upon request of the adopted child, and the adult adopted child in turn has placed in the adoption record written consent to revelation of the identity of the adult adopted child to a biological parent. The bill retains the mutual consent opportunity but provides that the requirements of the mutual consent process to request the opening of the permanent adoption records shall not preclude the opening of the permanent adoption record if requested by an adopted person who is an adult. Under current law, an adopted person whose adoption became final prior to July 4, 1941, and whose adoption record was not required to be sealed at the time when the adoption record was completed, is not required to show good cause for an order opening the adoption record. The bill amends this provision to be consistent with the provisions of the bill so that the requirement for showing good cause is stricken, and additionally the person is not required as other adults under the bill to file an affidavit to request an order to open the adoption record.