This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/GdW.2ACIB/245.1.1 Message Board Post: Mary Thank you for your reply. We have tried to petition the courts but to no avail. Apparantly the courts in Missouri are tougher on these adoption issues than almost any other state. We were told that when my father turned 70, the records would be opened. That has not happened either that is why I am back where I started with the Fitzwater message boards. My dad turned 73 this past April. Thank you for your help and I will keep on trying.