Rule 19 - Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law; Adoption Decree(a) FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS. Except when dismissal is appropriate under Rule 14 or 17, the court must grant or deny a petition and must make written findings of fact and conclusions of law.(b) ADOPTION DECREE. (1)Multiple Adoptees. The court must enter a separate decree for each adoptee.(2)Content. An interlocutory or final adoption decree must be set out in a separate document and must state:(A) the full name of the petitioner;(B) the adoptee's proposed name;(C) the adoptee's birth date and birth place;(D) the date that the adoptee began to continuously reside with the petitioner;(E) that the adoptee is mentally and physically suitable for adoption;(F) that each petitioner is fit and able to give the adoptee a proper home and education;(G) that the adoption will be in the best interests of the adoptee; and(H) that a District of Columbia Vital Records Form has been completed.(3)Certified Copy.(A)In General. The court must issue a certified copy of the interlocutory or final decree to the petitioner, the petitioner's counsel, and the reporting agency.(B)Additional Copies. Within 5 years of the entry of the decree, the petitioner, the petitioner's counsel, and the reporting agency may request additional certified copies of the decree without filing a petition to break the seal of adoption. A request for an additional certified copy must be accompanied by the appropriate fee.(c) NOTICE OF DECISION. The clerk must serve, on all contesting parties, notice that the petition has been granted or denied. The notice must not include the final or interlocutory decree.Adop. R. Sup. Ct. D.C. 19
COMMENT
Subsection (b)(3) recognizes that petitioners may need more than one certified copy of an interlocutory or final decree (for birth certificates, military benefits, health insurance benefits, education, etc.).