Adoption is full of formal processes that involve a series of legal documents, ranging from petitions to conversation logs, to the more colloquial letters to birth mothers or couple profiles. To help take the pressure off getting it right, taking a look at sample documents is a great way to ease up on perfection and find guides for what is expected.
A quick Google search of "sample adoption papers" will pull up adoption contracts, birth mother letter templates, sample petitions to access records, relinquishment papers, various information request forms, confidentiality waivers, legal notices and conversation logs. Because adoption is a legal process, nearly everything will be documented and kept in a file somewhere. The adoptee's original birth certificate pre-placement, for example, will be kept on-file with the state.
Sample adoption papers can also help with international adoption forms. While a couple will have a translator to help with the adoption, familiarizing with the paperwork from the country can save you a furrowed brow or two.
Making contact with a birth relative during a search and reunion can be an incredibly tense situation for an adoptee. You may want to make the best possible impression but without being too imposing. Dealing with this person may even seem more stressful than going through the motions for a petition for records.