Rule Text
Upon appointment, the curator ad hoc shall be responsible for:
(1) Securing all records pertaining to the petitioner's request through subpoenas duces tecum or other discovery process, if necessary.
(2) Reviewing all records pertaining to the adoption.
(3) Reporting to the court any objections to disclosure which he may have received from a custodian of records.
(4) Reporting his findings to the court within thirty days of the date of his acceptance of appointment or within an earlier time as ordered by the court due to exigent circumstances, recommending the granting or denial of the request of the mover, and particularizing the necessary scope of any disclosure order for the court's consideration.
Amendment history: Acts 1991, No. 235, §12, eff. Jan. 1, 1992; Acts 1992, No. 705, §1, eff. July 6, 1992; Acts 2008, No. 583, §1.
Plain-English Summary (for reference only — not a substitute for the rule text above)
This summary is not the rule. The rule text controls.
When a court appoints a curator ad hoc in an adoption case, this person has specific jobs to do. Their main task is to gather all the records connected to the request being made, usually the request to open or unseal adoption records. If people or agencies holding those records won't hand them over willingly, the curator can use subpoenas or other legal tools to get them.
Once the curator has the records, they need to read through everything related to the adoption. If anyone holding the records raises objections to sharing them, the curator must tell the court about those objections.
Finally, the curator has to report back to the court with their findings. This report is due within 30 days of accepting the job, though the court can set an earlier deadline if the situation calls for it. In the report, the curator tells the court whether they think the request should be granted or denied, and they spell out exactly what information should be disclosed if the court decides to allow it. This helps the judge make a informed decision about opening up sensitive adoption records.
