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Is It Against The Law

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DrunkOnChocolate | 15:55 Sun 21st Jul 2013 | Law
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I am adopted so If I tracked down my parents before being 18(which is when I am told I can meet them) would it be breaking the law?
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No, you wouldn't.
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how is it not breaking the law? :)
Which country are you in, it may make a difference.
You can't use the official records until you are 18 (16 in Scotland) but it would not be illegal to search for them by other means if you have enough information.

Because anyone is free to talk to whomsoever they choose, your birth parents are no exception.
the rule is that cannot help you or give you access to records until you are 18.
they have no control over other methods
some methods of tracking that may be illegal, not the fact that you are tracing them.
you couldn't access private records, or break into someones computer or home etc for example, but going through normal channels - asking around, researching public records, historical data, calling at houses, making calls, sending letters etc etc is not illegal.
I agree with you in principle Sharingan but in the case of adoption there are many safe guards in place to protect the child and the parent.

The arrangements are there for very good reasons.
Eccles, no one on here is talking about what people should do, but what is legal to do.
I agree woof but as I have a feeling drunkonchocolate is not in the UK I thought that should be cleared up first.

My second post was an opinion based on personal experience and was intended as food for thought for Sharingan. There are very tight protocols in place for very good reasons and steamrollering through them could do more harm than good in the longrun.
hc4361, how can 'official' records be unavailable to anyone of any age? I am not aware of any such restrictions. This is a free country. Anyone with the wit to do so may consult any public records.
The question was though 'I am adopted so If I tracked down my parents before being 18(which is when I am told I can meet them) would it be breaking the law?'


The answer to that is no, it's not against the law. Whether it is a wise thing to do is another matter and something only the people concerned can decide upon regardless of age whatever safeguards may be in place. Assuming she is UK based DrunkOnChocolate will not be breaking the law talking to anyone.
barquentine, adoption records are not public records.
DrunkOnChocolate is in Wales
no you wouldnt

If you a re going to track them down
make sure that you get counsellling before hand

because everyone finds it a bit of an emotional roller coaster

[basically if you ask people afterwards how they feel
the say it doesnt feel anything like they thought it would feel like before they did it]
My own view on what you are wanting to do is that you will not be prepared emotionally and mentally to cope with any disapointment, either on finding out who your parent(s) might be, or discovering that you may have no known parent. It's more than just a legality that makes being 18 the right age to start the process. You have to have the capacity to understand the possible scenarios, about the past and about a future. You've never lost your birth parent(s) emotionally, only physically, your birth parent(s) have already lost you once. For them it can bring someone into their lives that would mean the world or destroy it.

If you already know something about who you were, then go slowly now towards a time when, if you do it right, you can discover legally that they have left a message for you to find, a message that means they want to be found.

Good luck,
Agree with DJ. There's a lot more to it than finding out.
My daughter-in-law was adopted. One Christmas Day; good timing , that; she had a phone call from a woman, who began "I am adopted". Thinking that this was someone she had met, or otherwise knew that she was adopted, and who decided to contact her for help at an emotional time, Christmas, she said "Well, so am I. How can I help?" and the woman said "I think I am your sister!"

This method is not recommended ! It turned out to be true, and, it did work out well, but still!

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