{"id":1161,"date":"2019-05-21T19:28:50","date_gmt":"2019-05-21T19:28:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eralawgroup.com\/?p=1161"},"modified":"2019-05-21T19:28:52","modified_gmt":"2019-05-21T19:28:52","slug":"change-in-the-law-the-before-after-of-legitimate-child-presumed-parentage-and-adoption","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eralawgroup.com\/change-in-the-law-the-before-after-of-legitimate-child-presumed-parentage-and-adoption\/","title":{"rendered":"CHANGE IN THE LAW: The Before & After of \u201cLegitimate Child,\u201d \u201cPresumed Parentage,\u201d and Adoption"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
SB697 Bill Signing; Photo by: Patrick Siebert & Joe Andrucyk, 5\/13\/2019

http:\/\/govpics.maryland.gov\/pages\/Download.aspx?EventItem=7036&ImageItem=717545&Month=05&Day=13&Year=2019&Event=Bill+Signing&Photographer=Patrick+Siebert%2c+Joe+Andrucyk&Path=ImageHandler.ashx%3fEventID%3d7036&ImageID=717545&Thumbs=False<\/a> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By:\nValerie E. Anias, Esq.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On March 6, 2019, I testified before the Maryland Senate on Senate Bill 697.\u00a0 Senate Bill 697 sought to redefine Parentage and to create a process for Second Parent Adoption.\u00a0 On May 13, 2019, I appeared standing behind Governor Hogan to watch Senate Bill 697 be signed.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0This day is a tremendous win for so many families in Maryland.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Before and After of a \u201cLegitimate Child\u201d and \u201cPresumed Parentage\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before<\/em>:\nMaryland defined a \u201clegitimate\u201d child as one that\nwas born as a result of a marriage between a man and woman, a child legally\nadopted, or a child conceived through artificial insemination with the presumed\nconsent of the Husband.  In practice,\nthis meant that a child born between a married man and woman was presumed the\nlegitimate child of both, regardless of the biological makeup.  For example, if a woman in a heterosexual marriage\nused donor material, the husband was always the presumed parent and\nautomatically received the title as a legal parent.  However, \nlesbian couples in an identical situation \u2013 one gestational\nparent and one non-gestational parent \u2013 were not granted the same legal\npresumption.  As a result, lesbian\ncouples in an identical situation involving artificial reproduction were forced\nto petition a court to grant the adoption of their child by the non-gestational\nparent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After<\/em>:  Effective June 1, 2019, a child born between\na mother and her spouse is presumed to be the child of the spouse.  Removing the identification of \u201chusband\u201d\nremoved the implication that a legitimate child could only be born between a\nmarried man and woman.  In just a few\ndays, a child born from a mother is presumed to be the legitimate child of her\nspouse, regardless of sex, by virtue of being married.  This enables both spouses to be considered\nthe legal parent without having to formally adopt the child born as a result of\ntheir marriage.  It should be noted that\nsame-sex couples should still formally adopt their child to ensure safety as the\nlegitimacy of the child would only be presumed in Maryland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Before and After of a \u201cSecond Parent Adoption\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before<\/em>: \nIn some states, a second-parent adoption is different from a traditional\nadoption proceeding of two non-biological parents.  In Maryland, however, there was no special\nrule or consideration for second-parent adoptions by same-sex parents or\nstep-parents.  The statute, Maryland Rule\n9-103, which requires a doctor\u2019s letter, consent by the biological parent,\nproof of income, and various forms of \u201cproof\u201d that the adoptive parent is an\nappropriate candidate to adopt the child all apply. The non-gestational spouse\/step-parent\nwas forced to request the Court to approve, evaluate, and then determine their\nparentage of a child they have intentionally brought into this world in the\nsame way a heterosexual married couple could have or raised as their own.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After<\/em>: \nEffective June 1, 2019, the process for a step-parent or same-sex parent\nto adopt is much more simple and less invasive. \nIt provides a separate process for parents using a surrogate or for a\nstep-parent to adopt their spouse\u2019s child without having to navigate the waters\nof a traditional adoption.  It allows\nparents to proceed as the intended parents of the adoptee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This law allows families to establish themselves as families\nwithout belittling their status.  It\nensures children\u2019s safety and security, by removing complex procedures and\ntechnicalities to simplify the process of recognizing their parents. Formal\nrecognition of a parent\u2019s \u201clegal parentage\u201d protects all aspects of a parent –\nchild relationship such as ensuring that their child will be able to access\nthat parent\u2019s health insurance, Social Security, and other benefits as the\nparent\u2019s beneficiary; whether the child will inherit after their parent\u2019s\ndeath; or whether the parent\u2019s relationship with their child will be legally\nrecognized in states other than Maryland.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Put simply, this change recognizes families as families.\u00a0 Love wins.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This change recognizes families as families. Love wins.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1163,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[51,196,707,44,750,84,36,760,759,53,12,688,689,714,104,38,660,748,755,751,757,752,758,67,756,201,749,712,372,746,747,754,753,743,744,59,110],"class_list":{"0":"post-1161","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-adoption","9":"tag-annapolis","10":"tag-annapolis-lawyer","11":"tag-attorney","12":"tag-changes-in-the-law","13":"tag-child","14":"tag-children","15":"tag-equal-rights","16":"tag-equality","17":"tag-family","18":"tag-family-law","19":"tag-family-law-attorney","20":"tag-family-law-lawyer","21":"tag-female-lawyer","22":"tag-husband","23":"tag-law","24":"tag-legal-parent","25":"tag-legitimate-child","26":"tag-lesbian-married-couples","27":"tag-lgbt","28":"tag-lgbt-law","29":"tag-lgbtquia","30":"tag-lgbtquia-law","31":"tag-marriage","32":"tag-married-couple","33":"tag-maryland","34":"tag-maryland-law","35":"tag-maryland-lawyer","36":"tag-parent","37":"tag-presumed-parent","38":"tag-presumed-parentage","39":"tag-same-sex-family","40":"tag-same-sex-families","41":"tag-sb697","42":"tag-second-parent-adoption","43":"tag-stepparent","44":"tag-wife","45":"entry"},"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eralawgroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1161"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eralawgroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eralawgroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eralawgroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eralawgroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1161"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eralawgroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1161\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1164,"href":"https:\/\/eralawgroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1161\/revisions\/1164"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eralawgroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eralawgroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eralawgroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eralawgroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}