Rule 7.02 - Petition to Access Adoption Case Records and Birth Record InformationSubd. 1. Content of Petition. A person not listed in Rule 7.01 may only access adoption case records or birth record information relating to an adoption matter by filing with the court in the county which issued the final adoption decree a petition which sets forth the reasons why the person is requesting access to the case records or birth record information and shall include the following, if known:
(a) the procedural history of the adoption proceeding, including the date of adoption or of adoptive placement;(b) the names and addresses of all persons who may be affected by the request;(c) a factual statement about how granting the petitioner access to the adoption case records would be of greater benefit than not granting access;(d) the particular information sought, including whether the request for disclosure includes the name of the biological parent;(e) the date the petitioner contacted the Department of Health requesting identifying information on a birth record, if the petitioner is requesting identifying information in a birth record; and(f) the legal basis, if any, given to the petitioner by the Department of Health, the Department of Human Services, or agency responsible for supervising the adoptive placement for the Department's or agency's refusal to disclose the requested information.Subd. 2. Service of Petition.
(a) Request for Access to Identifying Information in Birth Record - Commissioner of Health. Where access to identifying information in the birth record is sought, the court administrator shall serve the petition on the Commissioner of Health by U.S. mail or through the E-Filing System if the Commissioner has the resources and technical capacity to accept electronic service. Upon service of the petition on the Commissioner of Health, the Commissioner shall supply to the court any affidavit of notification it has from the Department of Human Services pursuant to Minnesota Statutes § 259.89 and any other information the Commissioner of Health has regarding the legal basis for its refusal to disclose the requested information, including whether: (1) the biological parent has consented to disclosure of identifying information in the adoption record or birth record;(2) the biological parent has filed an affidavit objecting to the release of identifying information which remains unrevoked; and(3) the biological parent is living or deceased.(b) Request for Access to Agency Records - Agency Supervising Adoptive Placement. When access to records of the agency responsible for supervising the adoptive placement is requested, the court administrator shall serve the petition on the director of the agency by U.S. mail or through the E-Filing System if the agency has the resources and technical capacity to accept electronic service.(c) Other Persons. The court may order the petition to be served on such other persons as are necessary to its determination regarding whether nondisclosure of the requested information is of greater benefit than disclosure. If the court orders service upon the biological parent when the biological parent's address is known to the Department or the agency, the court may order the Department or the agency to disclose the biological parent's name and address to the court administrator who shall maintain the information in a confidential manner and cause the petition to be served on the biological parent in a confidential manner by certified U.S. mail designated "deliver to addressee only." Subd. 3. Access to Information - Other Agencies. The court shall forward data and information to agencies and others as required by statute or these rules.
Subd. 4. Tribal Affiliation Information. Upon application by an Indian person who has reached the age of eighteen (18) and who was the subject of an adoptive placement, the court which entered the final adoption decree shall inform such individual of the tribal affiliation, if any, of the individual's biological parents and provide such other information as may be necessary to protect any rights flowing from the individual's tribal relationship.
Subd. 5. Counsel Sharing Record with Client. Unless otherwise expressly ordered by the court, counsel for a party may only share adoption case records with that party consistent with state and federal access rules.
Amended effective 7/1/2015.2004 Advisory Committee Comment
Rule 7.01, subd. 4, sets forth the substantive law of the Indian Child Welfare Act. .