I am 22 years old & was adopted in GA. I contacted the GA adoption reunion registry to search for my biological mother. It's been 4 months since the start of the search. The agent says she has sent two letters to my biological mother with no response. I'm thinking my last resort is to petition it through the courts. How do I go about this & what are the ballpark fees ?
Paula McGill's Answer Plus Additional Commentary.
You may want to circumvent the court since the government doesn't care that your identity was stolen when you were young. Little by little states have realized the error in their ways and have allowed adult adoptees to open their records. Those states recognize natural rights require every person to know their birthrights and identities. Unfortunately, Georgia isn't one of those states.
As a result, you may not want to waste your money, time, and emotions by going through the courts. There are other ways to find your family, including searching through gene collection services and adoptee groups. The gene service that may assist you is 23andMe. There is a small fee for analyzing your genes and determining if there are other family members who are also in this service. More and more people are interested in finding their ancestors and close family members regardless of whether they are adopted. Even a second cousin may know the circumstances surrounding your birth and adoption. Another option is to hire a private detective. However the 23andMe service and a Georgia adoption listserve, with search angels will serve you better than going through the courts. Once you get a collection of close cousins, a private detective may be able to find your mother, father, and/or siblings.
