What's happening
This bill allows adopted adults in New York to seek contact with their adopted natural siblings, subject to sibling consent and court review.
Why it matters
Strengthens adoptee rights by enabling adopted adults to initiate contact with their birth siblings, giving more agency to adoptees in seeking family connections, provided their siblings agree.
Implements privacy safeguards by requiring sibling consent and ensuring that no information about birth parents is disclosed without explicit permission, protecting the identities of parents who may wish to remain anonymous.
Introduces a formal, court-mediated process for contact, including in-camera review of sealed adoption records and official correspondence to siblings, which helps balance openness with confidentiality and oversight.
Limits repeated requests by prohibiting reapplication if a sibling declines contact, but offers flexibility by allowing a new request after one year if a sibling does not respond, ensuring both respect for sibling wishes and opportunities for future connection.
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Who cares
Adopted adults age 21 and older
The bill would let them apply to the court that approved their adoption for adopted natural siblings’ names and last known addresses, subject to consent and protections against identifying natural parents.
Adopted natural siblings over age 21
They would receive a court letter offering the choice to consent to or reject contact, with consent required within 120 days and an explicit rejection barring another application for their records.
Adoption court judges and clerks
They would handle applications, send consent letters, review records privately and reseal them after the disclosure process.
Natural parents of adopted persons
Disclosure of sibling information would be allowed only if the court determines it would not reveal the natural parents’ names.
Headline styles
Let Adopted Siblings Connect
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
History
- Committed to rules
- Advanced to third reading
- 2nd report cal.
- 1st report cal.338
- Referred to children and families
- Reported and committed to rules
- Referred to children and families
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Let Adopted Siblings Connect
In Assembly Committee · Judiciary · Sponsor Kenneth Zebrowski
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
2939
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 18, 2017
Introduced by Sens. LAVALLE, AVELLA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Children and Families
AN ACT to amend the domestic relations law, in relation to disclosure of information relating to natural siblings of adopted persons
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The domestic relations law is amended by adding a new section 114-a to read as follows:
§ 114-a. Records of adopted natural siblings. Notwithstanding the foregoing or any other inconsistent provisions of law, a justice, surrogate or judge of the court in which the order of adoption was made shall, upon written ex parte application by a person at least twenty-one years of age who, as a child, had been legally adopted grant an order directing the clerk of the court who is custodian of the papers, records or files pertaining to such adoption to submit them to the court for physical unsealing to permit in camera review, by the court alone, of the information contained therein on the identification of the applicant's adopted natural sibling or siblings. Prior to such review, the court shall send a letter to the last known addresses of the adopted natural brothers or sisters over twenty-one years of age of the applicant stating that an adopted natural sibling is attempting to contact them. The letter shall contain a method for the adopted natural brother or sister to consent or reject such contact. The consent must be received by the court within one hundred twenty days in order to proceed. Upon receiving consent from the natural brother or sister and the review of the records have concluded that disclosure would not in any way reveal the name or names of the natural parent or parents, the court shall disclose to the applicant for the order of review the names and all last known addresses of the natural brothers and sisters over the age of twenty-one of the child who was adopted, and the clerk of the
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07799-01-7
S. 2939 2
court shall reseal and return the papers, records or files to the clerk of the court re-filing thereof. If contact has been denied, the applicant may not reapply to the court to obtain records of the natural brother or sister who explicitly rejected contact. An applicant may reapply, no sooner than one year after the previous application, for such records if the natural brother or sister did not respond to the letter of consent.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the domestic relations law, in relation to disclosure of information relating to natural siblings of adopted persons
Purpose
This bill would allow an adopted individual over the age of twenty one to petition the court to request information on their biological adopted siblings.
Summary of provisions
Section 1. Amends the domestic relations law by adding section 114-a, creating the process in which an adopted person can request information on their adopted biological siblings. The process would provide the petitioner's sibling the opportunity to deny the request through the court.
Section 2. Sets forth the effective date.
Justification
In New York State, there is no system in place for adopted siblings to get information about one another. It is natural for an adopted person to want to know more about their biological family. While there is a process to gather certain information regarding an adopted individual's biological parents, there is no process for reuniting siblings if they were adopted to different families.
Legislative history
2015-16 S.5342/A.5464
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
On the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.