Reuniting Withith Birth Family: How To Search For Your Biological Relatives

7 Ways To Search For Your Biological Relatives

Each year, over 135,000 children are adopted in the United States. Around 59 percent of non-stepparent adoptions come from the foster care (or foster) system, 26% come from other countries, and 15% are willingly abandoned American infants.

Being an adopted child is a challenge. Whether it is adjusting with the new family or facing biased behavior from the relatives. Or sometimes it is just you wondering why and how you were adopted. If you were adopted as an infant, then the curiosity doubles. In short, regardless of any situation, you are always found confused while thinking about some phases of your life, especially adoption.

Adopting a child brings a sense of responsibility. Parents are bound to give the same love and care to the adopted child as they would do to their own child.

Do you often wonder about your biological parents and relatives? Do you feel like inquiring why you are where you are with another family instead of them? The desire to know the people who share the same DNA as you is completely reasonable, regardless of how much you adore your adoptive family.

It can be emotionally overwhelming, so keep that in mind while searching for your biological parents. Searching for your biological family is not something you should do casually. You may not like what you discover about them. Also, it is possible that your biological relatives may not wish to be located for any reason, so anticipate rejection.

Whatever motive you have in mind, here are some of the ways you can do it:

1. Expect emotional vulnerability: Finding your biological family is one of the steps of the entire process, meeting them and facing their unexpected emotional reactions is another. They might get too emotional or may end up apologizing for abandoning you at such a young age. Some of the parents may end up giving explanations of why they did what they did. Or maybe some of the parents do not care at all. In short, the possibilities are endless. You never know what you might go through after finding the people you assume to be your family.

Expecting the burst out of overwhelming emotions can be really heavy for the head and heart. Be prepared for both good and bad experiences.

2. Look for information in any documents available: Now that you have made up your mind to find your biological relatives, it is important to know that you have to start from somewhere. And your initial step can be starting from whatever you already know and have. Look for all the adoption documents available and ask your adoptive parents if they have any extra information about your real family.

You can also try to access your birth certificate. For instance, several states in the USA give access to original birth certificates, which may provide vital information about your biological parents’ names.

If your state does not provide immediate access to your birth certificate, you may file a court petition. In general, it is essential to familiarize oneself with the most significant state laws governing adoption and record access.

Government data may also be able to assist you in locating your relatives. To find adoption records, you only need to know where you were born. In some states, you may be able to obtain a duplicate of your original birth certificate.

3. Look for the biological evidence: The only genuine evidence besides the legal documents will be your DNA report, which will confirm whether you share the couple’s DNA or not. Get your and your possible parents’ DNA tests, lawfully and compare the two reports. The higher the percentage, the more the chances are that they are your biological parents.

Adoptees can also seek online help such as joining the DNA Detectives Facebook group that will discuss the process with you and assist you in finding your genuine family tree.

Adopted.com is another way of finding your DNA match in order to find your family. You can upload your DNA report on the website and can look for the best matches.

4. Use social media: Using social media is the easiest yet the most time-consuming way of looking for your biological parents. But if you have any access to their names and where they currently live, you always choose filters in Facebook searches in accordance with your own needs. Type the name you know and look for them. If comfortable, you can also send them a friend request or a text message on messenger in order to know more about them.

5. Take professional help: In case you are anxious about the entire process of finding your long-lost family and every step seems to be overwhelming, you can always ask for professional help. For instance, Search Angels is an agency that aims to assist you in locating your ancestors via the use of techniques such as DNA testing.

6. Identity verification: While looking for your biological family, it is essential to know not to overlook your privacy and security online. Suppose someone claims to be your parent or a close relative. In that case, verify it through any reliable source before acknowledging their identity. You can use Nuwber and type the name of the person who claims to be your parent/relative. If nothing comes up, it is probably a scam to steal your valuable information for fraudster purposes.

7. Learn to let go: The most challenging step in the process of finding your biological family begins after you have found them. You need to understand that they may misbehave, or are in a lousy condition physically or financially, or might have a criminal record. Again, the possibilities are endless when it comes to searching for a lost one. You need to realize that if they do not acknowledge your presence or do not behave like a parent or a good relative, it is better to let them go rather than arguing how much you struggled only to reach out to them. It is better to let go where your feelings and emotions are not regarded as they should be.