Puerto Rico
Privacy of hearings and documents
All hearings with regard to cases of adoption and waiver of patria potestas, and of transference of custody, shall be held at the office of the judge with the intervention of the prosecuting attorney. The presence of any persons other than the Court officials, the adopting parties, the adopted, the parents, when their presene be indispensable, witnesses, counsellors, and representative of the Public Welfare dependency in the discharge of their official functions with regard to the adoption, is hereby forbidden. All documents relating to the adoption and filed with the corresponding Court, as well as the judgment and orders of the Court, shall not be subject to inspection by any person whatsoever, with the excepttion of the parties to the action and their counsel, and the Public Welfare Division. The Court may, through a written order issued for just cause, permit other persons to inspect the said documents.
(Code Civil Proc., 1933 sec. 613D, added June 15, 1953, No. 85, p. 298, sec. 2, eff. 90 days after June 15, 1953.)
P.R. STAT. ANN. tit. 32, sec. 2698
Updated January 2, 2019
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My family and I are searching for the birth parents/family of my 83 year old mother-in-law. She was adopted out of Puerto Rico. Her name on her birth certificate is Dixie Gail Hacker Robinson and her birth date is April 7, 1937. I am willing to file for a court order to view her birth records, but I would like to have an example of an order for assistance. is there any way you could help with this situation? As I mentioned, she is 83 and not in good health. I am sure you hear this all of the time, but knowing who her family is is her lifelong wish. We are all fearful that her wish will not be realized. Thank you in advance for any assistance.
Hi Debra-Ann–Thanks for writing. I suggest you contact our good friend and colleague-in-struggle Greg Luce at the Adoptee Rights Law Center. https://adopteerightslaw.com/ He has extensive experience in petitioning courts for documents and information, and I’m sure he can advise you You can reach Greg at info@adopteerightslaw.com Please let us know how it works out. This is ridiculous.