Second Parent Adoption For Families With Sperm Donor Conceived Children

Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice. It is not intended to substitute for obtaining legal advice from a qualified attorney.

One of the chief concerns donors and recipients have in the private donor community is ensuring every party is legally protected. Life can come at you fast especially when your attention is focused on caring for your children. However it’s important take steps to protect against with a variety of legal issues that can crop up in families with donor-conceived children.

Some of the top legal issues people are concerned about:

• Child support claims

• Parentage disputes between donors and recipients or among the recipients

• Inheritance disputes

• Disputes about contact between donor and child or between the recipient and their partner

In the private donor community this is one approach that is believed to be the best approach for protecting the interest of all parties involved: second parent adoption.

What Is Second Parent Adoption

The key to understanding what second parent adoption means lies in the phrase "second parent." The second parent is a parent who is not related to a child biologically.

Second-parent adoption often referred to as a same-sex parent adoption or co-parent adoption is a process by which a partner, who is not biologically related to the child, can adopt their partner's biological or adoptive child without terminating the first legal parent's rights. This process is of interest to many couples, as legal parenthood allows the parent's partner to do things such as: make medical decisions, claim dependency, or gain custody in the event of the death of the biological parent.

Second parent is legally recognized as a parent no matter what. While not available in every state, second parent adoption is especially important for same-sex couples whose rights and legal recognition may vary internationally or locally depending on the political climate, regardless of whether the second parent is listed on the birth certificate.

Second Parent Adoption Rules For Your State

This article is part of a series on second parent adoption in the USA. Throughout the next few weeks, I will publish my research on second parent adoption rules for at least 10 states that have a large number of members in the black sperm donor group - starting with Texas.

Stay tuned