Domestic Partner Adoption in California

Our clients often ask us the question, "Do I need to adopt my domestic partner's child?"  The answer can be complex and and the law is not fully settled in California.  In order to obtain full legal parental rights, we strongly advise our clients to adopt their domestic partner's child or children, especially if the child was born to their domestic partner before their partnership was registered.  

The current state of the law in California provides for a presumption that a child born into a domestic partnership is the legal child of both domestic partners, regardless of their biological connection to the child. Both partners can be included on the child's birth certificate in the hospital, and in theory, both partners have the same legal rights and obligations to the child.  

However, because the law in California is unsettled and federal laws as well as many other state laws do not recognize domestic partnership rights, Kesten Law strongly recommends that domestic partners obtain a court judgment declaring both partners to be the child's legal parents.  This can be accomplished through a domestic partner adoption.  This judgment is extremely important and critical to ensure that the child's legal relationship with both parents will be respected by other states and the federal government.  It is also important to help eliminate the possibility of conflict and litigation over this issue if the domestic partners separate in the future or if one partner should pass away.  Finally, this is a crucial step in proactively addressing any future issues that may arise with contesting individuals.  

If you have any questions regarding domestic partnership law or adoption in California, please click here to contact our office.  

5th Circuit Court of Appeals to Hear Case of Gay Dad's Names on Birth Certificate

Tomorrow a court of 16 federal appeals judges will decide whether Louisiana must put both parents’ names on birth certificates of children adopted by gay couples.  

Oren Adar and Mickey Ray Smith of San Diego are hoping that the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals will uphold a unanimous three-judge ruling and a district judge’s decision that both of their names must go on their son’s birth certificate.  Adar and Smith adopted a boy who was born in Shreveport in late 2005.  The two were living in Connecticut at the time and went to Louisiana to meet the mother, who gave them legal custody soon after his birth.  They adopted him in April 2006 in New York state.

Currently, the vital records laws in Louisiana do not permit for the inclusion of names of unmarried couples, who cannot adopt together in Louisiana regardless of sexual orientation.  

Similar cases have been considered in Virginia and Mississippi where the adoptive parents prevailed and their names were placed on the birth certificates.  

The Golden Globes - A Night to Celebrate Lesbian Families and Gay Youth

The Golden Globes was certainly a night celebrate gays and lesbians.

As gay, lesbian and single-parent families become an increasingly large part of the everyday American family, it is wonderful to see Hollywood acknowledge films that pay tribute to these family dynamics and watch the actors portray the emotional turmoil that can often exist.

Highlighting lesbian family life, Annette Bening took home a major win for her work in “The Kids Are All Right”, co-starring Julianne Moore.  The film stars Bening and Moore as a lesbian couple who created their family using a known sperm donor.  When their teen children seek out the sperm donor that fathered them, their family falls into turmoil.

“I’m very proud to be a part of this very special film about two women who are deeply in love and try to keep their family together,” Bening said.

Jane Lynch was also a part of the celebration of lesbian families as she acknowledged her wife Lara Embry in her thank you speech for her award winning performance in "Glee".

Chris Colfer took home an award for his role of Kurt in “Glee” where he portrays a young gay man struggling with his identity and bullying in his high school.  In his speech, Colfer encouraged any kid that is being bullied to “Screw that!” With the recent news of tragic bullying-related suicides, it is heart-warming to see young Hollywood help fight the abuse.

Parent One, Parent Two to replace references to mother, father on passport forms

In a decision that follows the end of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, the State Department has decided to make U.S. passport application forms “gender neutral” by removing references to mother and father.

Likely hoping to diffuse some of the attention this decision was sure to garner, the announcement was buried at the end of a December 22 news release, titled “Consular Report of Birth Abroad Certificate Improvements,” that highlighted unrelated security changes.

Fred Sainz, vice president of the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights advocacy group, called the news “a positive step for all American families.  It was time that the federal government acknowledged the reality that hundreds of thousands of kids in this country are being raised by same-sexx parents.”

Click here for the full article on WashingtonPost.com