Court Opinion

ID: 9678453
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 06:20:13.673705+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:17:04.708672
License: Public Domain

MASSEY, Chief Justice,
concurring.
Any decision of the controlling factor whether adoption of a child by prospective adoptive parents would be in best interests of the subject child, would raise the question: “Compared to its interests if not adopted at all or if adopted by other prospective adopted parents?”
Our public policy is committed to the proposition that under circumstances such as those presented to the court that to be adopted by proper adoptive parents is to the greater interest of the child than not to be adopted at all. Thereby part of the question posed is answered. (This is the ordinary adoption case.) However, as applied to the remaining part the question would be upon the matter of which pair of competing prospective adoptive parents should be preferred, in the best interest of the child.
Under our practice the adopted child may not in later years open the files to undertake research upon his ancestry in the event he might desire to do so. At least there is impediment to be overcome for him to look into the files. Indeed, even if they be opened it would be a rare case where the research would be successful. The writer, whose hobby is ancestral research, receives correspondence from all over the United States from persons who were adopted as children and thus found themselves hampered.
Since the publication of the Alex Haley book Roots, there has been tremendous stimulus for persons seeking to ascertain when their immigrant ancestors came to America, from where, and even into family well-springs in foreign countries.
Whether to be enabled to do so, or even be able to make the attempt, be in the interest of an adopted child may be a question to be decided by the trial court. Under circumstances of this case, I believe it to have arisen as a question. Of course there might be provision by the court in preservation of the ability of the child to make research, should in later years he might so desire, though permitted to be adopted by a couple other than his blood kindred.