[nowisalongtime]

My daughter was adopted at the age of 5 after a prolonged foster period by a married couple who could have no more children of their own. At that stage I was expecting another child and was told I could not cope with the needs of both so my wishes for reunion then were dismissed by the court.
The case presented was that with the foster family my daughter would have greater stability in her life and that many of my problems had been due to environmental factors that she would escape. I now know that at some stage the adopting couple divorced and that even now my daughter still lives with her adoptive mum.

Should I wait for her to contact me or could she be experiencing problems that are blocking her?

[Synnen]

You can start a search, by all means. But legally, you can not contact her until she is 18.

At that point, she may or may not search for you.

If she is over 18, by all means start a search.

[FeelSoNumbZombie]

You know a great deal more than you may realize about your child. Other than the fact that she has a new name (probably). It depends on how old she was for example when she was adopted. Many parents/agencies wish not to confuse a child any further and may keep their given name, yet change their surname.
Please post everywhere.