LGBTQ Child Custody Rights & Family Law

by Envision Family Law | Sep 19, 2022 | Washington, Washington Child Custody

LGBTQ+ couples are in a unique position. Today, they have the same rights as any other couple due to monumental Supreme Court rulings. However, the recognized rights raise questions in other areas of family law, especially between divorced parents.

The unique state of parental rights for LGBTQ families

There are many ways to build your family, regardless of your relationship, but LGBTQ+ families often use these options. These options include:

Donorship of sperm or eggs
Surrogacy
Adoption

However, when building your family in these methods, you expect that your family is only going to grow. If you end up divorcing, your time as a parent may change in ways you do not expect.

How you grow your family makes a difference

While Washington law does not have any restrictions against same-sex couples adopting, some may find that to be a superfluous step. Some common scenarios include:

If you marry someone with children from a prior relationship, you may spend a great deal of time parenting and building a relationship with the kids but not adopting them.
If you engage a surrogate parent or get a sperm donor before marriage, you may not be listed as a parent on the legal documentation.

Not taking steps to build a legal basis for your relationship with your kids can be a problem. Your ex may argue that you are not the legal parent of your children in those cases and do not offer you visitation rights.

Protecting your rights as a parent

If you are a parent, it can be hard to grapple with the legal obstacles of adoption and the often hard-to-understand legal necessities ahead of you. The bottom line for you is you need an advocate who will fight to protect your status as a parent to your kids.