If you are an intended parent who lives in a state that does not allow more than two persons to be named as legal parents on a child’s birth certificate, it is valuable to consider all your options when deciding the legal structure of your growing family. The law is…
In the United States, fewer than half of the children live in a household with just their siblings and married parents. The other children live in a variety of relationships and family structures that often mean that more than two people act as parents in a child’s life. Blended Families…
Part 8: Supporting your LGBTQIA+ Child When Others Won’t As a good parent, you love your child no matter what, regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation. Watching your child face discrimination and rejection is heartbreaking, and of course you want to protect them from that pain as much…
Part 4: Palmore v. Sidoti (466 U.S. 429 (U.S. Apr. 25, 1984)) In custody battles between straight/LGBTQIA+ couples, one of the most common arguments that is brought up against the LGBTQIA+ parent is the concern that the child will face social stigma or bullying because the child resides with a…
Part 1: Custody Battles for LGBTQIA+ Parents Every parent involved in a custody battle harbors at least some fear that they may lose custody of their child, no matter how unlikely it is. This fear is even greater for LGBTQIA+ parents, and understandably so. While acceptance for LGBTQIA+ individuals may…
Surrogacy and in-vitro fertilization are generally not possible without gamete donors. However, like surrogacy contracts, gamete donation isn’t addressed by North Carolina statutes or cases. Both donors and intended parents need to protect themselves under North Carolina’s contract laws by making sure they have a strong contract addressing their interests.…
We’ve written before on the importance of establishing some new routines and traditions after (or during) a tough separation and divorce. Sometimes if you focus on the simple things it can make the difficult and complicated seem easier to deal with, especially in a contentious custody case. The courts believe…
As we discussed in Part 2 of our series, North Carolina doesn’t have statutes or case law protecting surrogates and intended parents, so the best way to protect yourself, no matter your role in the process, is to have an ironclad surrogacy contract. A surrogacy contract should be reviewed by…
In Part 1, we talked about the confusing hodgepodge that is international and US surrogacy law. In considering surrogacy, you may be hoping to keep things close to home to keep travel costs down and stay close to everyone involved and wondering what the law is here in North Carolina.…
Thousands of families around the world have successfully grown with the help of a surrogate mother, and you may have decided that surrogacy is the best option for your family. But before you decide, be sure you’ve done your homework. The legality of surrogacy changes depending on where you are,…