My mom says that my stepfather adopted me so that I could have his name. However, I am now wondering if it was a legal adoption or if they just started using his last name on my name. I recently lost my birth certificate and sent off for a copy. When the birth certificate arrived, it had the name that I was born with on it and not the so called adopted name of my stepfather. How can I find out about whether the adoption was legal or if they just verbally changed my name?

Who does your birth certificate list as your father?

If it's your step-father, you were adopted.

If it's NOT--then they just started using his last name as yours without a formal adoption.