Second-parent and Step-parent Adoptions

For LGBT couples and/or traditional surrogacies* (depending on the laws in the state where your baby is delivered).

We can provide you with the legal services that ensure both intended parents will be legally recognized as the child’s parents.

 

*Although ARTparenting does not match intended parents with any traditional surrogates (a traditional surrogacy is one where the pregnancy is achieved utilizing the surrogate’s own eggs), if the surrogate is already pregnant we can take care of your legal needs.

 

When one parent is already the legal parent (such as in a traditional surrogacy case or in certain surrogacy cases where only one parent is legally recognized as the parent), a step-parent adoption or a second-parent adoption is needed in most states (1) to give the non-legal parent his or her status as a legally recognized parent and (2) to obtain a new birth certificate with both parents' names on it. The need for this varies between states and cases — contact Meryl to find out more.

 

Second-parent Adoption

For same-sex couples in particular, it is often the case that there is only one legal parent even though two people may equally parent the child and consider themselves co-parents. This is because the status as a legal parent is usually conveyed to the parent who has a biological connection to a child, such as a biological mom or biological dad (or may be recognized through a court process). Similarly, while some couples raise an adopted child together, only one of them may have officially become the adoptive parent because some agencies prohibit same-sex couples from adopting together, but permit an LGBT individual to do so.

 

A second-parent adoption allows a second parent to adopt a child without the "first parent" losing any parental rights. In this way, the child will have two legal parents. It also typically grants adoptive parents the same rights as biological parents in custody and visitation matters.