Closed court records
Hi hitting a wall and maybe someone can help.
I had a half brother Gregory (? birth name/adopted name? ... DNA proof back to my fathers line) who unfortunately died before I knew he existed and could put a name to him.
He was born in 1935 in Detroit to a woman named Jessie who was previously married, with my dad being the father, ...who also happened to be married at the time. A bit of a drama I am sure.
Our father (Greg and my) paid $$ at one point (about 1938) as Jessie was to remarry to relinquish his parental rights so Greg could be adopted and have funds to support him in his early years. The adopted/blended family moved to Provo in the early 1940's and then onto California in the 1950's.
We have a note from my mom going over the 'facts' that we have recently discovered that seem to match up with this scenario.
Greg passed away in 2021 and his 'birth certificate and any adoption details' are not forth coming from the state Michigan, as it is a closed court record (?). We would love to get a copy of his original birth certificate and adoption papers. He, his mother/adopted father, siblings have all passed away so the adopted family search is not a 100% path, and there is a very good chance that Greg did not know he was adopted or had disclosed it to his children. He popped up during a random DNA check by a grand daughter.
Any ideas on how to get to a locked record, when the person in the record is dead, and the 'parents' in the relinquishment and adoption are also deceased?
Thanks for kind support to guide me to the documents.
Answers
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Bad news: Michigan has had some of the most restrictive laws regarding closed adoptions. Good news: many locations are beginning to loosen some of those restrictions.
Have you tried following the process outlined here? You should qualify as "adult biological/former sibling"
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