Can an unmarried couple adopt? Can a same-sex couple adopt?
New York's same sex couples are afforded the same legal path to adoption as heterosexual couples. At the Greenberg & Greenberg law firm in Manhattan, we have represented hundreds of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) families over the past decade. New York State is certainly not yet in the forefront of states that have legalized marriage for LGBT couples, but adoption is a vehicle that can ensure permanence for the children and enables both parties to preserve important rights vis-à-vis the child.
If you are considering a New York same-sex adoption or second parent adoption, contact our Manhattan, New York, LGBT adoption attorneys at 347-448-5674 or 877-340-0995.
History of LGBT Adoption in New York
The New York decision allowing same-sex couples to adopt held, for the first time, that two unmarried adults could jointly adopt a child who is neither one's biological child. Nowadays, of course, one person can carry a child to term (the pregnancy could result from a known or anonymous sperm donor or egg donor, for example) and the other partner can adopt the child after birth.
The guiding principle of New York adoption law holds that adoption is a "means of securing the best possible home for a child." New York's highest court has held that "the letter and spirit of the adoption statute encourages the adoption of as many children as possible regardless of the sexual orientation or marital status of the individuals seeking to adopt them."
This is a victory for same-sex couples and unmarried opposite-sex couples. Most importantly, it is a victory for the children, as the adults acting as their parents can now be legally recognized as such.
Supporting Legal Adoption by LGBT Couples
There is an extensive body of literature that provides evidence that children adopted by same-sex couples can have the same advantages and same expectations for health, adjustment and development as can children whose parents are heterosexual. When two adults participate in parenting a child, they and the child deserve the peace of mind that comes with legal recognition of the parent-child relationship.
Children born into or adopted into families headed by partners who are of the same sex usually have only one biological or adoptive legal parent. The other partner is in a parental (but not legal) role of "co or second parent." Because these families and children need the permanency and security that are provided by having two fully sanctioned and legally defined parents, the American Academy of Pediatrics and many other organizations fully support the legal adoption of children by co-parents or second parents.
How Can a New York Same Sex Adoption Lawyer Help?
It is our lead adoption Link to Adoption attorney, Cliff Greenberg's Link to FindLaw Profile job to ensure that your LGBT adoption happens. By representing you and completing the necessary paperwork for the finalization hearing in court, we:
- Guarantee that the second parent's custody rights and responsibilities will be protected if the first parent dies or becomes incapacitated
- Protect the second parent's rights to custody or visitation if the couple separates
- Establish the requirement for child support from both parents
- Ensure the child's eligibility for health benefits from both parents
- Provide legal grounds for either parent to provide consent for medical care and to make education, health care and other important decisions on behalf of the child
- Create the basis for financial security for children in the event of death of either parent by ensuring eligibility to all appropriate entitlements, such as social security survivor benefits
We are in the forefront of same sex adoptions in the state of New York. Please call us so that we can help you adopt the children you love.
