Good News
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage in the landmark Obergefell case in 2015, and in 2017 affirmed that the right to marriage includes the “constellation of benefits” that come with marriage such as the right to reproduce and have a family. With these steps forward, the spouse of a person giving birth, regardless of gender or sex identity, will generally be recognized as the second parent of the child on the child’s birth certificate.
Bad News
Despite significant leaps forward in our country to affirm the rights of LGBTQ+ couples and parents, discrimination continues to threaten LGBTQ+ families and their parental rights. Unfortunately, we have seen cases where states have been unwilling to recognize a person as a parent based on a birth certificate issued in another state. In fact, there is no legal requirement that a state honor a birth certificate issued by another state. The result is that even though you may be recognized as the parent of your child in a state like Colorado, another state may not recognize your parental rights.
It is recommended that non-genetically linked parents, and in some situations genetically-linked parents as well, consider obtaining a court order recognizing the parent-child relationship in order to reinforce the legal relationship and obligation all other states to recognize that relationship. Depending on your state or county, there may be options on how this judicial acknowledgement of parentage is obtained, including parentage orders, confirmatory/co-parent adoption, or second parent adoption. Learn more about each below:
Parentage Orders
Intended parents of children born via reproductive technology need to petition their state court to establish legal rights and affirm that a gamete donor is not a legal parent. In many states, this can be done before or after the child is born. Where available, this process is a fairly quick and streamlined option to establish parental rights without the hassle of fingerprinting, background checks, or home visits.
Confirmatory/Co-parent Adoption
Some states have passed statutes establishing a process called confirmatory or co-parent adoption specifically for LGBTQ+ couples who have used donor gametes and reproductive technology to grow their families. Similar in process to the parentage petitions, confirmatory/co-parent adoptions are a simplified adoption procedure that enables parents to affirm their parental rights without having to undergo background checks, home visits, and a court hearing.
Second-parent Adoption
You don’t want your parental rights to change based on where your family travels or lives. Second-parent adoptions are often an important step to take to secure parental rights, particularly for some of our LGBTQ+ clients who may not be biologically related to their child.
