In re E.D.R.

Summary

The District of Columbia Court of Appeals held that a petition to correct an adopted child's foreign birth certificate is evaluated under the preponderance-of-the-evidence standard, rather than an absolute-certainty standard. The court concluded that medical evidence, testimony from the adoptive parents, and the questionable reliability of the foreign birth certificate supported changing the child's birth date. The case was remanded with instructions to recognize November 1, 1998, as the child's date of birth for lawful purposes.

Holdings

1. A request to correct an abandoned child's date of birth on a foreign birth certificate is governed by the preponderance-of-the-evidence standard, absent a statute requiring a heightened standard.
2. The greater weight of the evidence established that the May 22, 1998, date on E.D.R.'s Chinese birth certificate was incorrect and that November 1, 1998, should be treated as her date of birth for all lawful purposes.

Questions Presented

1. What burden of proof applies to a request to correct an abandoned child's date of birth on a foreign birth certificate?
2. Whether the trial court erred by requiring proof of absolute certainty rather than applying the preponderance-of-the-evidence standard.
3. Whether the evidence supported changing E.D.R.'s birth date to November 1, 1998, even though her exact date of birth could not be established with absolute certainty.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded