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H.B. 406
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7 LONG TITLE
8 General Description:
9 This bill amends the Utah Adoption Act by modifying when adoption records can be
10 unsealed.
11 Highlighted Provisions:
12 This bill:
13 . provides that, in the event an adoptee has a medical need requiring knowledge of
14 the adoptee's biological heritage, a court shall unseal the adoption record; and
15 . makes technical changes.
16 Money Appropriated in this Bill:
17 None
18 Other Special Clauses:
19 None
20 Utah Code Sections Affected:
21 AMENDS:
22 78B-6-141, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2009, Chapter 159
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24 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
25 Section 1. Section 78B-6-141 is amended to read:
26 78B-6-141. Petition, report, and documents sealed -- Exceptions.
27 (1) A petition for adoption, the written report described in Section 78B-6-135 , and any
28 other documents filed in connection with the petition are sealed.
29 (2) The documents described in Subsection (1) may only be open to inspection as
30 follows:
31 (a) in accordance with Subsection (3)(a), by a party to the adoption proceeding:
32 (i) while the proceeding is pending; or
33 (ii) within six months after the day on which the adoption decree is entered;
34 (b) subject to Subsection (3)(b), a court enters an order permitting access to the
35 documents by a person who has appealed the denial of that person's motion to intervene;
36 (c) upon order of the court expressly permitting inspection or copying, after good cause
37 has been shown;
38 (d) as provided under Section 78B-6-144 ;
39 (e) those records shall become public on the one hundredth anniversary of the date the
40 final decree of adoption was entered; [
41 (f) if the adoptee is an adult at the time the final decree of adoption is entered, the
42 documents described in this section are open to inspection and copying without a court order
43 by the adoptee or a parent who adopted the adoptee, unless the final decree of adoption is
44 entered by the juvenile court under Subsection 78B-6-115 (3)(b)[
45 (g) if an adoptee has a medical need to know the adoptee's biological heritage, a court
46 shall immediately order the unsealing of the adoption record if the need is certified by a
47 licensed physician by testimony or in a written statement.
48 (3) (a) A person who files a motion to intervene in an adoption proceeding:
49 (i) is not a party to the adoption proceeding, unless the motion to intervene is granted;
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51 (ii) may not be granted access to the documents described in Subsection (1), unless the
52 motion to intervene is granted.
53 (b) An order described in Subsection (2)(b) shall:
54 (i) prohibit the person described in Subsection (2)(b) from inspecting a document
55 described in Subsection (1) that contains identifying information of the adoptive or potential
56 adoptive parents; and
57 (ii) permit the person described in Subsection (3)(b)(i) to review a copy of a document
58 described in Subsection (3)(b)(i) after the identifying information described in Subsection
59 (3)(b)(i) is redacted from the document.
Legislative Review Note
as of 2-2-11 3:04 PM