Unsealing a birth certificate

[jessesgirl1105]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

I'd like to know how to unseal a birth certificate, what paperwork to file, and if the original birth certificate can be used to revert back to the original name?

The history of this situation is as follows:

My niece (my sister's daughter) was placed into foster care when she was a year old. When she was three the foster family adopted her and her new birth certificate reflects the name they chose for her and has their names as parents. They completely changed first, middle and last names.

When my niece was nine they decided they didn't want her in their family anymore because she was too "disruptive". They turned her over to the county and she ended up in a series of foster, group, and facility homes, making her a "legal orphan". When she was sixteen they decided to give my sister another chance and placed my niece in the home under foster child status, meaning my sister was her own biological child's foster parent. This didn't work out because my sister has issues (drugs, etc) that made the living situation very bad for my niece. As a result, my niece got into trouble with the law and ended up in juvenile hall. She is currently on probation but it will be terminated next month when she turns eighteen. At that time she is coming to live with me in Indiana, where I have a stable home environment and the patience to deal with undoing the many years of being "institutionalized".

My niece's probation officer and social worker told her she can legally change her name. My niece would like to unseal her birth certificate and use that instead of her adoptive one. She wants to use her birth name and wants her birth parents on her certificate because she has concerns that her adoptive parents may still have rights to her if she does not. She has claimed abuse by them and at least half of her claims were proven by investigation but they were never prosecuted. She doesn't want to have to explain her entire life story each time someone requests to see her birth certificate for services, and doesn't want a hassle when she goes to college and gets a job.

Without hiring an attorney (I can do the paperwork but just need to know which forms to get), can we file to get it unsealed and use that in place of the current one? If not, what other options do we have? She is adamant about not wanting them in her life, even if it's just names on the certificate. We are leaving end June, can this (whatever we end up doing) be done from Indiana? Or can we do it quick enough before we leave?

[CourtClerk]

There must be legal just cause to unseal a birth certificate in CA after it's been sealed.

This isn't it. In other words, there is no chance in hell you're going to get a judge to order DVS to unseal that birth certificate under the circumstances you have presented.

[jessesgirl1105]

So with that in mind, what are the options so she can get her name legally changed? I've told her once she has ID in her preferred name then her adoptive name will no longer be an issue.

[CourtClerk]

She can do a legal name change. It is $350 plus the publication fees.

[Indiana Filer]

She could be adopted as an adult. The adoptive parent-to be needs to be in the state where the adoption takes place. If you adopt, it could occur in IN. If her bio mother adopts her, it would need to be in CA.