SUMMIT NEW JERSEY UNION COUNTY DIVORCE LAWYER

Adopted children often face medical or social problems difficult to handle without their biological history. A New Jersey bill aimed to provide them with that information - while balancing the biological parents' right to privacy - is before the full Senate for a vote. It would empower an adult adoptee, his or her adult child, or the adoptive parents of a minor to obtain the adoptee's original, unaltered birth certificate from the state registrar upon submission of a notarized request. Birth parents who wanted to maintain their anonymity would be able to block the request, and instead provide a detailed family information form, containing their regularly updated medical, cultural and social histories. The Senate bill passed the Senate's Health Committee unanimously; the Assembly version still is in its Human Services Committee.   Legislative Bill S-611/A-7523, New Jersey Lawyer, February 29, 2008