The lawyers of Claiborne | Fox | Bradley | Goldman rejoiced with our LGBT friends when the United States Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that “same-sex couples may exercise the fundamental right to marry in all States”. Claiborne|Fox|Bradley has always been a strong supporter of Georgia Equality and Lambda Legal in their efforts to legalize gay marriage in Georgia.
A gay man who marries a man with a child may now adopt his husband’s child under Georgia’s stepparent adoption laws. A Lesbian woman whose wife gives birth to a child may adopt the child as a stepparent. Married same-sex couples may adopt children together without going through the two-step process of first parent adoption and second parent adoption.
The battle for legal recognition of families with same-gender parents is not yet over, however. Claiborne|Fox|Bradley sadly agrees with the caution urged by The National Center for Lesbian Rights that even though married persons should be presumed under law to be the legal parents of a child born into the marriage, non-biological and non-adoptive parents should seek an adoption or parentage judgment, even if you are named on your child’s birth certificate.
Founding partner of Claiborne |Fox | Bradley | Goldman, Ruth Claiborne, was among the first lawyers in Georgia to finalize co-parent adoptions between same-sex couples. Claiborne|Fox|Bradley lawyers have successfully finalized over 450 adoptions involving same-sex partners in the state of Georgia. If you are seeking to secure a family through adoption, we are the most experienced lawyers for you. If you and your partner are looking to start a family, we are able to provide legal advice to clients who require egg, sperm, or embryo donation or gestational surrogacy. Claiborne | Fox | Bradley | Goldman works with a network of healthcare providers, including egg and sperm banks, to provide you with a referral to the right professionals.
