Reclaiming My Name

Some may have read my journal, some might not have. I grew up in the foster care system. My parents were never able to legally adopt me, due to medical expenses. There was also the fact that my birth mother refused to relinquish custody. But there is no doubt in my mind that they loved me the same as my two siblings. When they both passed, I became curious about my genetic lines. About three years ago in a fluke, hoping to help a family who I believed were my genetic paternal line, I took a Y dna test. That test came back with me being related to a far different surname. I began a search then for that family. Using Ancestry DNA I was able to locate and prove that connection late last year, and early this year.

I ended up with a new Aunt and 5 new siblings and felt a great connection to them right away. I wanted to be more than part of the family in their hearts, but to be so legally. I set about on a plan I've worked on for the last 5 or 6 months. My birth certificate always had a blank spot for father. Today, I put in a request to the WV court system to grant me a hearing to have my birth certificate amended to have my birth father's name on it. I will hopefully have some answer from them next week.

I guess I'm just posting here for some positive energy. I don't want to draw it away from more important matters of life and death, but if there were any good thoughts to spare, I'd appreciate them. This is definitely going to be a hail mary pass, and is pretty unprecedented in the WV courts.

I hope it all goes well and I wish you luck. May the force be with you

rrhodes67 wrote: I guess I'm just posting here for some positive energy. I don't want to draw it away from more important matters of life and death, but if there were any good thoughts to spare, I'd appreciate them. This is definitely going to be a hail mary pass, and is pretty unprecedented in the WV courts.

No need to downplay it. It's important to you, it's important to us.

The best of luck my friend, go for it, full force!

Good luck I hope things go as you wish.

Good luck !!

May the Force be with you Manu

What an amazing story! Good luck and may the Force be with you! I'm sending you all sorts of good juju

That is a wild story, but I'm sure living it has been even more intense! Good luck with the hearing! May the Force guide and support your efforts!

*more intense to live through!

(One of these days, I'll learn how to proofread, before posting!)

rrhodes67, how did this turn out?

Thanks for asking Magnus. All the paperwork came back saying I needed to submit a $200 check to file the petition. Then I got concerned that I might pay and not get anything at all from it, so I called. They raised other concerns. So right now my wife and I are holding off until the last week of Christmas so we can figure out all the steps required so I'm not just throwing money out there on empty ideas. I really appreciate your remembering and asking.

rrhodes67 wrote: Thanks for asking Magnus. All the paperwork came back saying I needed to submit a $200 check to file the petition. Then I got concerned that I might pay and not get anything at all from it, so I called. They raised other concerns. So right now my wife and I are holding off until the last week of Christmas so we can figure out all the steps required so I'm not just throwing money out there on empty ideas. I really appreciate your remembering and asking.

Keep us posted. As you might have noticed, we are a mix of diverse people all with our own opinions and approaches. But we are ultimately a family, so as I said, it's important to you, it is to us.

Thank you for the quick reply, and for daring to share... that is not always easy.