Decree Of Adoption

Question: Where can i get my Adoption Decree in oklahoma city? I was adopted here in oklahoma and need a copy of my adoption decree,where do i go 7 what do i need?both of my parents are deceased.

Answer: If the decree was issued in OK city then city hall would have the info if not you would need to know the county.~

Question: Where would I obtain a copy of my adoption decree ? I was adopted in Los Angeles and my adoptive parent dose not have any records of my adoption.

Answer: the clerk or records department for the county you were adopted in

Question: how can i get a copy of my adoption decree in the state of massachusetts? I need it to help prove my ciizenship in the USA so i can obtain my passport.

Answer: Contact your town hall dept of records (birth,death, marriage etc).

Question: Finding an Adoption Decree? I am settling the estate of my father and need to find an adoption decree for his daughter that he gave up for an adoption in Portland, Oregon. Where do I start?

Answer: Adoptions are sealed so you would need a court order. 1. Go to the court in Portland, OR and find out if such a record exists (there would be a record of the case, even if it is sealed); 2. Once you can confirm that such a record exists (or at least the case for the adoption), get a court order - probably from the probate court who is handling the probate case. You may want to get an attorney to help you with this...

Question: how long does it take to get a final decree of adoption in tennessee after petetion is filed?

Answer: It can take up to 12 months. Best of luck to you.

Question: How can I get a copy of a Final Decree of Adoption? How can I get a copy of a decree of adoption? I was adopted by my mother's 2nd husband when they got married. I found out that my biological father is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation and I am already fascinated by the Native American culture!! When I got adopted, it even changed my birth certificate as who my biological father was. So, anyone know how to get copies of adoptions?? I live in Oklahoma if that helps. Thanks for the help in advance. I should probably also mention that I am a 26 year old veteran. My biological father is still alive and he did give up his rights when I was roughly 10 years old. Does this help any? Thanks! :)

Answer: I don't think you can do what you want to do, but try to meet your biological Dad anyway and have a relationship with him!

Question: Get original adoption papers from Guatemala?? We adopted in 2003, but lost all adoption papers (birth cert., adoption decree, etc.) in Katrina (2005) except her passport and Green Card. We had yet to re-adopt her in the US, so we have no US birth certificate. Asked for help from the TX agency we used and they said that they had no copies of our stuff and we're on our own. Anyone had any experience trying to get documents directly from Guatemala, or should there be some copies elsewhere that we can obtain?

Answer: I highly recommend you start by contacting the immigrant visa section at the embassy in Guatemala. Our address when sending correspondence from the United States is: American Embassy Guatemala Immigrant Visa Section Unit 3308 APO AA 34024-3308 You can also contact the Immigrant Visa Unit by email at [email protected]. The Immigrant Visa Unit can be reached by telephone at (011-502) 2326-4000 from 2:00 pm to 3:15 pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Please ask for the Immigrant Visa Unit.

Question: Million Dollar Question: How to separate truth from fiction in adoption case? I'm looking for some advice on how to discern the truth in an adoption case from the 1920s. My paternal grandmother found out she was adopted late in life. She was apparently very angry and refused to have anything to do with finding her true parents' identities. No one else in the family seemed to think it important either. Fast forward to a year ago...my interest in genealogy had picked up but I didn't know how to begin finding her true birth parents or ancestors. As any of you probably know, a genealogist (amateur though I am) can be driven crazy by having 25% of a family tree missing. With the help of a couple very talented genealogists, I was able to acquire copies of her birth certificate, the adoption decree, the certificate of adoption, and a document called "Information Concerning Adoptive Parents". As I alluded to in another question a few days ago, the birth parents listed on the birth certificate are amazingly difficult to locate in census records or any other genealogical resource. Both genealogists that were assisting me suggested the very real possibility that the information for the father, mother, or both is completely false. According to the records, my grandmother was born on January 29th, 1925 at the home of a physician in Cincinnati, Ohio. On the actual birth certificate, her name is listed as Rita Ochs. The father is listed as Louis Schallenberger (residence unknown, 30 years old, birthplace unknown, occupation/industry unknown). The mother is listed as Bernice Ochs (residence Cincinnati OH, 29 years old, birthplace Dayton OH, occupation/industry 'housework'). However, any records resembling the parents' identities doesn't fit...for example, I can find a Louis Schallenberger in Pennsylvania who was married and had kids at the time...I can find a Bernice Ochs who was married and lived in Iowa at the time. I know either person could genuinely be the true parent, but it seems unlikely to me and even if it was, I don't know that their current family would like me asking if Mom or Pop ever had an affair in Cincinnati! At this point, my grandmother looks to have been placed with St Joseph Infant Asylum in Cincinnati through the Bureau of Catholic Charities. On the adoption decree, her name is listed as Marie Ochs. Upon adoption to Joseph F and Mary Irene Comfort, her name was changed to Rosemary Patricia Comfort. She knew only this name for her entire life, though she changed her last name when she married my grandfather (Carroll William Haug). My grandmother only found out that she was adopted when she and my grandfather were in Ohio attempting to get her a passport to vacation in Guatemala. My grandparents were staying at the home of her adoptive aunt (sister of Mary Irene Comfort). Her adoptive aunt apparently let slip to my grandfather that the adoptive parents (Joseph and Mary Irene) had sworn the family to secrecy. To further complicate matters, I mentioned to some aunts and uncles over the past year that I was attempting to discover my grandmother's true identity through genealogical research. A few seemed excited and supportive, but a few bristled at the idea, even going so far as to tell me to keep my nose out of it. I told them I wanted to know for my own knowledge, but I don't know why it's such a hot button topic now for her kids. I'm doing it for peace of mind and to know my roots...not to try to contact her family and stir things up. ANYWAYS, sorry for the essay. How can I sort through the truth and fiction in this situation? How can I ascertain what's true and what's not out of the birth certificate information and subsequent adoption information. As you can tell, it's not exactly a case where I should start asking around. I know it's very sensitive. Jeez, this got a ton longer than I wanted but I wanted to try to include all aspects of consideration. This is very important to me. Any responses will be extremely appreciated! Thank you for the response! I appreciate the suggested records. The one(s) for Bernice Auchs are particularly interesting. Both of the Lewis Schallenbergers are listed as married, which was certainly possible. My only concern is that the information I have is not based on census records...I'm going off of the information provided by the presumed birth mother, so spellings should be accurate as long as she wasn't intentionally misleading. One of the prevailing thoughts as far as scandal goes is that the adoptive parents may have been relations of the birth mother, probably brother or sister of the true mother. This is unlikely though, seeing as how my grandmother was placed in an infant asylum. Could this be the case though? I'm just trying to cross as many possibilities out as I can right now...thanks!

Answer: The documents you have are a gold mine and I hope other researchers take your list to know what to get when researching adoptees. I suggest you take the MTDNA test in the mean time to try and match another female. MTDNA goes from mother to mother to mother. It could be a while but hopefully you will find a match one day and then just have to connect the dots to find the common grandmother, then work back to your grandmother. As far as the secrecy, that's normal, even now a days. Not to mention back then when the family welcomed a new baby into the family, then had to be sworn to never tell where she came from. Of course there might have been incest or rape that would have made it even more of a secret. Below are some possiblilties to check out. There's one called Marie Ochs, which maybe the mother named Rita Marie Ochs after herself 1920 Cincinnati possibles Kate Ochs Cincinnati Ward 11, Hamilton, Ohio abt 1894 Ohio White Head Florence Ochs Cincinnati Ward 14, Hamilton, Ohio abt 1896 Ohio White Head Alma Ochs Cincinnati Ward 14, Hamilton, Ohio abt 1898 Ohio White Sister 1930 possibles Margaret Ochs John Cincinnati, Hamilton, OH abt 1895 Wife Alma Ochs Cincinnati, Hamilton, OH abt 1897 Missouri Head Ida Ochs Charles Cincinnati, Hamilton, OH abt 1893 Wife Marie Ochs John L Dayton, Montgomery, OH abt 1896 Wife Marguerite G Osha Phillip R Dayton, Montgomery, OH abt 1899 Wife Mayme Ochs Dayton, Montgomery, OH abt 1892 Ohio Lodger I found an obituary for Bernice M Ochs who died in Sac Co, IA who is the right age. Her middle name isn't Marie though. There is also a photo of the headstone. 1900 possible. The only one born about 1897 Bernice M Reese Home in 1900: Dayton Ward 8, Montgomery, Ohio Age: 2 Birth Date: Nov 1897 Birthplace: Ohio Race: White Ethnicity: American Relationship to head-of-house: Daughter Father's Name: Bruce M Father's Birthplace: Pennsylvania Mother's Name: Minnie A Mother's Birthplace: Ohio Marital Status: Single Residence : Dayton City, Montgomery, Ohio Bruce M Reese 25 Minnie A Reese 30 Bernice M Reese 2 Marie Ochs Home in 1930: Dayton, Montgomery, Ohio Age: 34 Estimated Birth Year: abt 1896 Relation to Head of House: Wife Spouse's Name: John L John L Ochs 40 Marie Ochs 34 Elvera A Ochs 13 Virginia A Ochs 11 Kenneth J Ochs 9

Question: how many post palcement visit neeeded by CA for Intercountry Adoption? According to SB1393 one needed!? My wife and I adopted a girl form abroad she is now with us. After extensive research we decided to get her US passport for her . We did follow the protocol outlined on the state Department on Child Citizen act of 2000. But The passport agency in LA required us to get Citizenship certificate or CA Court ordered readoption or other documents. We do have a full and final adoption decrees form the country of origin recognized by US Government. When we ask the agency that did our home study they told us we have to petition the court to get CA Delayed birth certificate but we need 4 post placement visit. According to SB1393 signed by the governor we need on post placement visit since we did inter country adoption which has strict requirement before we adopted. Our adopted daughter Came to California under H4 Visa and has been issued green Card. We are a naturalized citizens. Please respond only if you have knowledge in Inter country adoption or facing the same issue.

Answer: I'm a little confused by your post. It's my understanding that the designations for International adoption visas are IR3 and IR4 (not H4). H4 appears to be a visa issued to spouses and children of H visa holders, not to adopted children of citizens. If your child came in under an IR3 visa, they do not need to be readopted and the passport agency should accept your foreign birth certificate, foreign passport and foreign adoption decree. If your child came into the US under an IR4 visa (often the case when children are "escorted" to the US for adoption), then you would need to readopt, even if the child was also adopted in the other country. (The readoption requirements vary by state, so California may or may not have a post-placement requirement.) Can you confirm the visa designation of your child.

Question: We got married last May. I want to change my name on my passport, but the govt. site says I need this:? Acceptable evidence of name change, such as marriage/divorce/adoption decree; or court order of name change. How do I do this? I haven´t been to court, my Social Security card has been changed to reflect my new name, but I don´t now if this is acceptable.

Answer: You need a marriage certificate not a marriage license. A license does not mean you are married. It only means that you may get married. A marriage certificate on the other hand is a certificate stating that you are married. You can get one from a state agency that varies from state to state: Dept of vital records, Dept of health, etc. Find out which one in your state, request a certified copy(some give uncertified copies for genealogical searches, etc.), and you now have your acceptable evidence of name change.

Question: What should I bring? My husband & I are going to the US Embassy next week to hand in the I-130 petition. The lady from the Embassy told me that they will also do an interview, which will include verifying that our marriage is real. She told me for this there are no documents I need to bring - if the interviewing officer has questions or doubts, they will schedule us for another appointment and give us a list of documents to prove at that time. The US Embassy is far from where we live and I would like to go prepared the first time. My husband and I have been married over 6+ years, got married here in Tunisia, I have lived here since 2001, we a son together, I am currently 7.5 months pregnant, and he adopted my daughter from a previous marriage. I am bringing (the originals and English translations of all): *the marriage certificate (obviously) *the birth certificates of our children *the adoption decree What other documents or things should I bring? What kinds of questions should we expect? Any advice? I like the idea of pictures, and I had thought of that too, but the problem is this: All the pictures we have taken in the last 5 years are digital. I have them online, but I don't have hard copies of them. I can't order prints from online stores either as Tunisian credit cards are only good in Tunisia (it sucks!). Any suggestions for that?

Answer: Bring a variety of photos, any leases or titles in both your names, bank account info etc. I had an interview with my husband in the US. They told us it would be videotaped but we saw no camera (maybe it was hidden or they told us this to freak us out). Honestly, I don't remember what she asked us - I know there were times we answered together and disagreed. LOL It wasn't funny at the time...but I think it had more to do with my husbands nervousness and command of the language even though he spoke well enough at the time...he often would answer things without thinking. Wait! He still does that! LOL I remember we looked through our photos together and she aksed us questions about them. I remember that in our wedding photos I am wearing different dresses and my hair is done differently and she asked about that. I explained to her the tradition of changing dresses mulitple times and how in the day I had my hair down and at night I had it up. She tried to be very conversational throughout the whole interview. And everything worked out fine. She seemed to really like us. Good Luck! EDIT: Just print them on regular paper,photocopies or in your case printed off the computer, even in B&W...and/or print some pages off your blog. That's how we had sent most of our pics in. (They had most of them already, like I said, we had a HUGE file and she whipped out the pics!)

Question: can I get some sort of new birth certificate after I got adopted? I got adopted when I was 14 and all I have is the adoption decree which is 3 full pages long. The thing is that now I live in Europe and it is a mess every time they ask me for my birth certificate; I can not show my original birth certificate because my biological parents are not my legal parents anymore. There must be something I can get besides the adoption decree. If anyone has been in this situation or know anything about this stuff please let me know. thank you By the way i got adopted in the state of Florida, I wasn't born in the US but my adoptive father is American.

Answer: Yes. Florida will issue you a revised birth certificate showing your adoptive parents. You'll want to find a Florida family law attorney to advise you on how, though. My wife has one, since she was adopted, but hers was taken care of by the adoption agency 40 years ago, so I can't tell you how it was done. Richard

Question: Question about adoptee's amended birth certificates? Its been years since I really inspected my amended birth certificate. I was looking at it last week and came across a few interesting items. That being said, for the life of me, I will never understand how the government gets away with falsifying an "official" document. It has my adopted name, date of birth, my ap's names & their dob's. It even has the date my "mother" had a serological test for syphilis- the day I was born. I asked my adoptive Mom if she had to have a test like this when she applied for adoption. Nope...and she was quite insulted when I asked. My abc has 2 different "stamps" on it. One says "received and filed on December 20, 1965". That is IMPOSSIBLE, as my ap's did not even get me until the first week in May. Of 1966. In the corner, it has the date of December 2, 1966 in a circle/stamp. That is most likely when my adoption was final, or when the court filed the final adoption decree. My ap's swear they do not remember when my adoption was final, although they said they had to live in fear for 6 months after they got me and my a bro.....because "THAT WOMAN" could have shown up on their doorstep and taken their baby, lol. But- that date would have been 6 months after they got me. The ONLY things that are true on my abc was my weight, my sex, the hospital, and the doctor who delivered me. He was an in-house doctor who subcontracted with Catholic Scarities. It is the 1966 date that has always confused people who have needed to see it. (getting my driver's license, social security card after I was married, and when I needed to have it to travel to Mexico) Other than the obvious, does your abc have any other funkiness going on? Have any of the first Moms here had the chance to see their child's amended birth certificates? Ap's? What oddities are listed on your child's abc? Even as a child I laughed at the absurdity listed on my abc.....but the test for syphillis truly made me go, "Hmmmmm." eta: Also, did your ap's receive an official "Adoption Decree"? Mine say they did not. eta for Carol: I was born in Ohio. It does say "Ohio Department of Vital Statistics Certificate of Live Birth". All 3 of my children were born in Ohio, and their birth certificates have the same thing. Theirs do not have the syphillis testing section, though. They must have stopped putting that info on the birth certificates. I do have the hospital records from when my first Mom had me. Once I got her name from my searcher, I used the info from her hospital records to contact her. This was of course, long before HIPPAA rules were in place, so I got lucky. That info really made me sick, when I saw the drugs they used on her.

Answer: My Amom swore she never got an adoption decree. However the adoption must have gone thru since she and her husband were listed on my ABC. What is bad is that my biological father and I have the same woman as "mother" on our BC's (of course my bio dad is not on my ABC) The most screwed up ABC I have ever seen tho goes to my best friend. She was also adopted by her bio father's mother. (she was 5 so she always knew she was adopted). Her ABC has her grandmother down as "mother" age of "mother" at birth was 56 and guess who is listeed as "father"...Her biological father!!!. So if you are doing her geneology, it looks like her grandmother got pregnant by her own son and had a baby at 56 years old. (I know this is Arkansas and all but geeze) One morbid thought I had after looking at my ABC was that awoman could commit a murder, adopt a child that was born on the day she murdered someone and get away with it...after all, she has a legal document showing that she was in a hospital miles away giving birth that day...

Question: can I get some sort of new birth certificate if I was adopted? I got adopted when I was 14 and all I have is the adoption decree which is 3 full pages long. The thing is that now I live in Europe and it is a mess every time they ask me for my birth certificate; I can not show my original birth certificate because my biological parents are not my legal parents anymore. There must be something I can get besides the adoption decree. If anyone has been in this situation or know anything about this stuff please let me know. thank you By the way i got adopted in the state of Florida, I wasn't born in the US but my adoptive father is American.

Answer: your father should be able to call the state of florida and get the correct birth certificate issued...here is the site to go to to order one http://www.vitalrec.com/fl.html

Question: Is it possible to do DNA testing with 2nd or 3rd cousins to see if we are actually related? Hi! My great-grandmother was adopted I'm thinking between 1890-1910 in south-western Minnesota. At that time it was a closed adoption and for years she tried to find out who her biological parents were but because it was a closed adoption she could never get in to the records. We think she was adopted within her own family but were not sure. The records are now public record because after 100 years in the state of Minnesota those records become public record but you need the original adoption decree. Which I'm sure my family doesn't have. The dates at the time match up but we would like to know for sure. Can DNA tests be done between 2nd, 3rd, 4th cousins to see if blood lines (DNA) match up? How would a person go about doing this?

Answer: Because your great-grandmother does not have Y-DNA, the test will have to be for Mt-DNA, unless your great-grandmother has a known brother with known male descendants. Assuming the latter is not the case, the testing would have to be done on one of her descendants that is a child of her daughter or her daughter's daughter. Her sons would inherit her Mt-DNA, but they could not pass it down. Then this DNA would be compared with a descendant of her possible sister (brother won't work), and that descendant has to come through only female lines.

Question: My name on the green card in different from SS card? because when I failed my certificate of birth to USCIS at the time, I did't know my certificate would has a mistake in spelling. although I applied passport with correct imformations, but it still to cause that my name on green card is differen from the name on social security card. my name on the green card is correct. I read the informations on the USCIS website, and then I completed I-90 Form. but I don't exactly know what must I attch with this form. the I-90 instruction reads that: Include proof of your correct name or biographical data. Submit a copy of the original court order reflecting your name or a copy of your original marriage certificate, divorce decree, birth certificate, adoption decree, passport, or applicable court documents, etc. Legal name change documents submitted as evidence of a name change must have been registered with the proper civil authority. I don't know how to get those stuff. can anybody tell me how to do?

Answer: If the green card name is correct, do not use the I-90. Instead you should go to social security and get them to amend your records to reflect your correct name. SS here: http://www.ssa.gov/ssnumber/

Question: Would my children keep getting there survivor benefits if my husband adopts them? My kids father died in 06. They each get SSI survior benefits. My husband wants to adopt them and give him his last name. We only want to do this if they can keep getting the money. We put the money into a savings account for them and provide full support with our income. I found this on the SS website. So maybe they do keep getting the benefits. If someone adopts a child who is receiving benefits When a child who is receiving benefits is adopted, let us know the child’s new name, the date of the adoption decree, and the adopting parent’s name and address. The adoption will not cause benefits to end. I posted this on the law and ethics board and all I got was bashing. People think all we are trying to do is mooch off the system. We don't even use the money. We put it into a savings account for each child and we don't want to lose it since it is the only thing there father gave to them.

Answer: Stepparent adoption does not affect SS benefits

Question: Trying to get a replacement SS Card? I was robbed awhile back. Im trying to replace my ss card. This is what they are asking. I dont have any of it and am open for ideas: We can accept only certain documents as proof of identity. An acceptable document must be current (not expired) and show your name, identifying information and preferably a recent photograph. Social Security will ask to see a U.S. driver’s license, state-issued nondriver identification card or U.S. passport as proof of identity. If you do not have the specific documents we ask for, we will ask to see other documents including: * Employee ID card; * School ID card; * Health insurance card (not a Medicare card); * U.S. military ID card; * Adoption decree; * Life insurance policy; or * Marriage document (only in name change situations). All documents must be either originals or copies certified by the issuing agency. We cannot accept photocopies or notarized copies of documents.We may use one document for two purposes. For example, we may use your U.S. passport as proof of both citizenship and identity. Or, we may use your U.S. birth certificate as proof of age and citizenship. However, you must provide at least two separate documents.

Answer: Along with Birth Certificate they use to take Baptism Record for citizenship. If you ever drove they might still have you on record. They had stuff on me that went back 30 years. If you are a registered voter they might take your registration card utilities bills or copy of your lease IF you have lived in the same area a number of years.

Question: Does coercion in adoption violate the UN's Declaration of the Rights of the Children? Principle 6 of the UN's Declaration of the Rights of the Children clearly states that "a child of tender years shall not, save in exceptional circumstances, be separated from his mother." When an adoption agency uses force and/or coercion to obtain a surrender are they violating this decree? I ask this today because tomorrow marks the 50th anniversary of this declaration. http://www.cirp.org/library/ethics/UN-de…

Answer: Yes it does. All children are to be given the right to grow up with their mother and father of origin. Adoption itself breaches many rights of both the UN's Declaration of Rights and the Convention on Rights of the Child. Many professionals I have met through my journey in adoption agree adoption contravenes these rights and therefore at the very least needs massive reform and some want to see it abolished with the chance for a fresh start. If adoption is breaching rights all these western countries agreed to uphold, it makes you wonder how people can even let this go on. The UN themselves have commented on how adoption has become more about finding a child for mostly infertile couples these days and the child's rights are not being observed. Lets hope they can help with it although they do not have the same power as a government does and are usually made to dance on puppet strings by certain governments. But to answer you question, YES and this has been known for some time. A child is ONLY supposed to be separated from his/her family in cases of abuse and even then adoption is too harsh as it creates a legal fiction.

Question: Is there any way to gain access to my little girl? When I was 13, me and my then girlfriend had a baby and we gave her to a couple and they adopted her. I really didnt want to say goodbye to my baby but I was convinced by her parents that it would be best in the long run. Well a year ago my babys mother died in an accident and I really miss her. I recently began to visit my daughter regularly and she is now 5 years old. I am 19. I was wandering if its possible to revise adoption decrees to give me some visitiation rights and be able to be a part of the girls life?

Answer: ive heard that in the united states the parents can come back at anytime and get their child how true not sure good luck.. Once an adoption has been finalized according to law, the placement is considered permanent. In some states, signing voluntary relinquishment papers is followed by a period of time during which the birthmother can change her mind. Once that period has expired, her parental rights are terminated. Exceptions arise when all legalities have not been observed, or if coercion or fraud can be proved. In these cases, even after finalization, the adoption could be reversed. This is one reason why all parties to the adoption should make it their business to understand the law, know the professionals with whom they are working, and be sure to their satisfaction that the entire process is being done with close attention to legal details.