There are situations where you may not feel comfortable asking someone if they have a sibling or asking those around you whether you have or had one. There are many reasons why people can be hesitant to talk about family members: they passed away, they drifted apart or they stopped contacting each other after getting into a huge argument. If you’re trying to find out whether you or someone else has a sibling, you can perform a person search to find the information you need.

Genealogy Sites

Sites such as Family Search and ancestry.com let you enter the names of someone’s parents, leaving their given name blank. This search will yield the individual’s parents’ birth, marriage, or death records and those of any children they had. Keep in mind that these genealogy sites, as well as all other reputable sites, don’t provide data on recently departed or living people.

Tips for Adoptees

If you were adopted, you might suspect or even know you have biological siblings. Let’s say you have no clue where they might be. Your biological parents may have died or simply not be in the picture, and you may not know how to get in touch with other biological relatives. How can you start looking for them in this case? One way would be to use an adoption registry. You can enter your personal data on a site such as adoption.com to see if a biological sibling is searching for you as well. These data options are often limited to date and place of birth.

Adoption Agencies

Some adoption agencies offer search and reconnection options you can use. If your parents used an adoption agency to place you, you can get in touch with that agency. Usually, birth mothers talk to adoption specialists about their personal lives, which almost always includes other children. The agency might have this information even if your adoption was closed and your adoptive parents didn’t get any details about your birth family. They may release this information to facilitate your search if you’re a legal adult and their policies allow it.

Look at the Adoption Records of Your State

Following the finalization of any adoption, many states will maintain a file of sealed adoption records. Most of them have procedures in place, through which biological parents and adoptees can open those files to get information. It will help to do some research into your state records office’s policies and, if it’s possible, to get identifying information. Moreover, an attorney or adoption specialist might be able to assist you.

Social Networks

Social networking sites are becoming increasingly helpful. Many people use social media to look for siblings.

Get a DNA Test Done

A DNA sibling test compares two people’s DNA to establish if they’re biological siblings or not. These tests are usually done to determine paternity. This often occurs in cases where the possible father is in prison, unwilling, deceased, or otherwise unavailable to take the test. Mothers often present sibling DNA test results to get survivor benefits for their children in legal circumstances. In these cases, the paternity of one child is 100% certain, and the mother needs evidence that the same man is the father of her other child or children.

Don’t Give Up

You may be looking for a brother who disappeared or a sister who got married and changed her last name. Regardless of the reason you are looking for someone, it’s easier than ever to find people in the digital age.