A Legal Foundation For Your Family
Building a family takes love, patience, and the right legal steps. For same-sex couples in Minnesota, second-parent adoption offers a way to ensure both parents have equal legal rights to their child. Here's how the process works and what you need to know....
A second-parent adoption allows a person to file a petition with the court in their county of residence to adopt their partner's child. These adoptions often involve situations where the other biological parent has already waived their parental rights to the child,...
If you’re going to adopt as a way to expand your family, you may need to prepare for a home study or a home inspection. There may also be documents and forms you need to provide, such as medical records or proof of your income. You’ll go through an interview – likely...
Being in a happy and loving marriage can be fulfilling and beneficial for same-sex spouses. If the time comes and a couple wants to expand their family by adopting a child, there are several options available. If you are in a same-sex marriage and looking to provide...
Eight years after same-sex marriage became legally recognized throughout the country, some spouses still face unique challenges when it comes to being considered as the legal parents of their own children. Some women in same-sex marriages face a particular challenge....
Much progress has been made over the past decade in protecting the rights of gay and lesbian couples. While same-sex marriage is protected by federal law (thus far), having children can be more complicated as many states do not give same-sex parents the same rights as...
Imagine deciding to grow your family and going through in vitro fertilization (IVF) with your partner resulting in your healthy son being born but being told by a judge that you cannot be the child’s legal parent. That’s what happened to a Colorado same-sex couple...
For nearly a decade same-sex couples in Minnesota have had their marriages legally recognized by state law since Minnesota made its marriage law gender-neutral in 2013. Since then, while same-sex couples have enjoyed many rights that accompany a legal marriage, they...
Same-sex couples often need to go through the adoption process when they wish to start a family. Since so many states lack adequate protections of the parental rights of these couples, adoption is one way for the parents to ensure that they will be able to spend time...