2021 New Mexico Statutes
Article 5 - Adoptions
Section 32A-5-40 - Post-decree of adoption access to records.

A. After the decree of adoption has been entered, all court files containing records of judicial proceedings conducted pursuant to the provisions of the Adoption Act and records submitted to the court in the proceedings shall be kept in separate locked files withheld from public inspection. Upon application to the clerk of the court, the records shall be open to inspection by a former parent if the adoptee is eighteen years of age or older, by an adoptee if the adoptee is eighteen years of age or older at the time application is made for inspection, by the adoptive parent if the adoptee is under eighteen years of age at the time application is made for inspection, by the attorney of any party, by any agency that has exercised guardianship over or legal custody of a child who was the adoptee in the particular proceeding, by the department or by an adoptee's sibling; provided that the identity of the former parents and of the adoptee shall be kept confidential unless the former parents and the adoptee have consented to the release of identity. In the absence of consent to release identity, the inspection shall be limited to the following nonidentifying information:
(1) the health and medical histories of the adoptee's biological parents;
(2) the health and medical history of the adoptee;
(3) the adoptee's general family background, including ancestral information, without name references or geographical designations;
(4) physical descriptions; and
(5) the length of time the adoptee was in the care and custody of persons other than the petitioner.
B. After the entry of the decree of adoption, at any time, a former parent may file with the court, with the placing agency or with the department:
(1) a consent or refusal or an amended consent or refusal to be contacted;
(2) a release of the former parent's identity to the adoptee if the adoptee is eighteen years of age or older or to the adoptive parent if the adoptee is under eighteen years of age; or
(3) information regarding the former parent's location or changes in background information.
C. Any changes to post-adoption access to records referred to in Subsection B of this section shall be filed with the court, the placing agency and the department.
D. The consent or refusal referred to in Subsection B of this section shall be honored by the court, the placing agency or the department unless for good cause the court orders to the contrary.
E. At any time, an adoptee who is eighteen years of age or older may file with the court, a placing agency or the department:
(1) information regarding the adoptee's location; or
(2) a consent or refusal regarding opening of the adoptee's adoption file to the adoptee's former parents.
F. If mutual authorizations for release of identifying information by the parties are not available, an adoptee who is eighteen years of age or older, the biological parents if the adoptee is eighteen years of age or older or the adoptive parents if the adoptee is under the age of eighteen years may file a motion with the court to obtain the release of identifying information for good cause shown. When hearing the motion, the court shall give primary consideration to the best interests of the adoptee, but shall also give due consideration to the interests of the members of the adoptee's former and adoptive families. In determining whether good cause exists for the release of identifying information, the court shall consider:
(1) the reason the information is sought;
(2) any procedure available for satisfying the petitioner's request without disclosing the name or identity of another individual, including appointment of a confidential intermediary to contact the individual and request specific information;
(3) whether the individual about whom identifying information is sought is alive;
(4) the preference, to the extent known, of the adoptee, the adoptive parents, the former parents and other members of the adoptee's former and adoptive families and the likely effect of disclosure on those individuals;
(5) the age, maturity and expressed needs of the adoptee;
(6) the report or recommendation of any individual appointed by the court to assess the request for identifying information; and
(7) any other factor relevant to an assessment of whether the benefit to the adoptee of releasing the information sought will be greater than the benefit to any other individual of not releasing the information.
G. An adoptee shall have the right, for the purpose of enrolling in the adoptee's tribe of origin, to access information kept by the department. Information needed by an adoptee to enroll in his tribe of origin may be requested from the department by the following persons:
(1) the adoptee, after he reaches eighteen years of age;
(2) when the adoptee is a child, his adoptive parent or guardian; or
(3) an adoptee's descendant or, if the adoptee's descendant is a child, an adult representative for the descendant.
H. When the department receives a request for information regarding an adoptee's tribe of origin, the department shall examine its records to determine if the adoptee is of Indian descent. If the department establishes that an adoptee is of Indian descent, the department shall:
(1) provide the requester with the tribal affiliation of the adoptee's biological parents;
(2) submit to the tribe information necessary to establish tribal enrollment for the adoptee and to protect any rights flowing from the adoptee's tribal relationship; and
(3) provide notice to the requester of the department's submission of information to the adoptee's tribe.
History: 1978 Comp., § 32A-5-40, enacted by Laws 1993, ch. 77, § 167; 1995, ch. 206, § 43; 1997, ch. 34, § 13; 2005, ch. 189, § 72.
The 2005 amendment, effective June 17, 2005, added Subsection C to provide that any changes to post-adoption access to records shall be filed with the court, the placing agency and the department.
The 1997 amendment, effective July 1, 1997, substituted "by the department or by an adoptee's sibling", for "or by the department" in the second sentence of the introductory language in Subsection A.
The 1995 amendment, effective July 1, 1995, added "a placing agency or the department" at the end of Subsection D, and added Subsections F and G.

Structure 2021 New Mexico Statutes