What are Second-Parent Adoptions?
While Massachusetts has recognized second-parent adoptions since 1993, which allow for a non-biological parent to adopt the child of a sole legal parent, such adoptions have become even more accessible with the passage of the Massachusetts Parentage Act. Second-parent adoptions protect the child, the second parent seeking legal parentage, and the former sole legal parent in various scenarios, such as future inheritances, custody and parenting time determinations, or healthcare decisions. This process provides equal legal rights and responsibilities to both parents, without revoking rights and responsibilities of the biological and or previous sole legal parent of the child.
Second-Parent Adoptions are Important for the Rights of Same-Sex Couples, Unmarried Couples, and Those Utilizing Reproductive Technologies
Second-parent adoptions are crucial, especially for same-sex couples. In February of 2023, a state court in Oklahoma denied a lesbian mother parenting rights over the child’s sperm donor, who had signed a sperm donor agreement which voluntarily waived all of his parenting rights. Furthermore, the mother had been listed on the child’s original birth certificate, however, the Oklahoma court ruled that its paternity laws did not extend to same-sex couples in the way it did for heterosexual couples. (See: Oklahoma Court Decision Raises Concerns for LGBTQ+ Parents Highlighting the Importance of Confirmatory Adoptions | Family & Divorce Lawyers Massachusetts). This ruling underscores the innate need for protections of LGBTQIA+ parents, especially those not biologically related to the child. Even if the parents reside in a state that does provide for such protections for LGBTQIA+ parents, a second parent adoption is crucial to ensure those rights will be recognized whether they are traveling in another area, or any other issue that may arise.
Second-parent adoptions are not only helpful for those in same-sex or unmarried couples; they can also provide protections to couples utilizing reproductive technologies, such as sperm or egg donors, in conceiving a child, or when the legal parent of a child from a previous relationship wants their current partner to be recognized as a legal parent to the child. Second-parent adoptions vary from other adoption methods, such as stepparent or confirmatory adoptions. Stepparent adoptions are available in every state and allow a person married to a child’s legal parent to adopt said child, including couples of same-sex marriages. Confirmatory adoptions streamline the adoption process in cases where a parent has an existing legal relationship with the child, such as being the biological father to the child where the parties are unmarried. Second-parent adoptions do not require that the parties be married or have an existing legal relationship to the child.
Legal Process of Second-Parent Adoptions
In order to initiate a second-parent adoption, the second parent must file a petition in the corresponding probate and family court, including the adoption petition form, the child’s birth certificate, a consent form signed by the biological/legal parent, and proof of the second parent’s relationship with the child, such as showing caregiving records and childcare expenses. A fee is also required but may be waived if the petitioner meets certain requirements. Upon a court’s review, a hearing will be scheduled before a judge, who will determine whether the adoption is in the child’s best interest or not prior to granting the adoption. If the judge approves the adoption, the second parent will receive a court order confirming the second parent’s legal parentage. At that point, the child’s birth certificate may be updated to reflect the second parent’s legal parentage. Hiring competent legal counsel, such as an Attorney at Hera Law Group, will help streamline this process significantly and ensure that all requirements are met.
Under the new Massachusetts Parentage Law, which will go into effect on January 1, 2025, parental rights for LGBTQIA+ parents and parents using reproductive technology to conceive will be strengthened. The Act removes outdated language, replacing antiquated terminology with more modern language, reflective of our current society. It also expands the standard for establishing parentage (previously referred to as “paternity”) beyond the previous methods, including surrogacy agreements, assisted reproduction and de facto parentage (parentage based on a party’s previously established relationship to the child, requiring a court judgment for legal recognition of such relationship). This Act serves to protect all types of parents and their rights, regardless of how the child-parent relationship is formed (See: Parentage Act Means Big Win for Parents in Massachusetts | Hera Law Group). While second-parent adoptions remain an essential and helpful way in which non-biological parents can obtain parental rights over their child, the Massachusetts Parentage Act hopefully will allow LGBTQIA+ members to establish legal parentage through other avenues, without needing to solely rely on adoptions to do so.
Reach out to us at Hera Law Group with any questions regarding second-parent adoptions, adoptions in general, or the Massachusetts Parentage Law and we’d be happy to assist your family in securing all protections available to you and those you love most.
