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New here. I apologize in advance if this is the wrong area to post this.
I'm going genealogy and trying to find our Grandfather. Our Mother was raised by her Mom's second marriage and has had no interest in knowing who her biological father is. However, as Grandchildren, we do want to know who he was. Our Mom is still alive, but isn't the most stable person, so we prefer to keep this genealogy research confidential. To determine who our Grandfather is, we have requested our Mom's birth certificate from the state of California. Sadly, we received a letter from the state saying "Certificate of No record". We understand that this could mean there was an Adoption. We want to explore "Adoption" as the reason for being denied the birth record. If she turns out to be adopted, as Grandchildren, do we have any legal recourse in obtaining our mothers birth certificate?
If so, can someone explain the process, or point us to free legal advice for such a matter?
Thanks!
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If your mom was officially adopted by the second husband, then the original birth certificate (OBC) will have been sealed. And, she will have been given an amended birth certificate with her adoptive father's name on it. That is the birth certificate that she would use for legal purposes.
In most states, including California, it takes a court order to unseal the OBC. And, your mother would have to make the request. From what I can tell, in California, children of adoptees do not have the right to unseal records. (Even if California did allow you to access her OBC, you probably would not be able to obtain it without her permission as long as she is alive.)
Are you all assuming that your mother's biological father was your grandmother's first husband? If so, it would probably be easier to locate a marriage certificate for your grandmother, which would then state the first husband's name as well.
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L4R
If your mom was officially adopted by the second husband, then the original birth certificate (OBC) will have been sealed. And, she will have been given an amended birth certificate with her adoptive father's name on it. That is the birth certificate that she would use for legal purposes.
In most states, including California, it takes a court order to unseal the OBC. And, your mother would have to make the request. From what I can tell, in California, children of adoptees do not have the right to unseal records. (Even if California did allow you to access her OBC, you probably would not be able to obtain it without her permission as long as she is alive.)
Are you all assuming that your mother's biological father was your grandmother's first husband? If so, it would probably be easier to locate a marriage certificate for your grandmother, which would then state the first husband's name as well.
This is EXACTLY what happened. The California Birth Index reflects her real fathers name. It's no mystery who he is. Years later, she was adopted by her mother's second husband. Today, she has the amended birth certificate which is used for legal purposes. She doesn't have any interest in pursuing the original birth certificate, despite our requests. This makes it difficult for us to conduct genealogy, as we need her original birth certificate to prove lineage and obtain vital records of our ancestors from various states/counties throughout the US.
When our mother dies, will we have any legal right to obtain our mothers original "court sealed" birth certificate? Again, all events took place in California.
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