Vermont this week took a big step forward in protecting the relationships of all children with their parents, by enacting a new parentage law that is gender neutral and marital-status neutral, and clarifying the recognition of both biological and nonbiological relationships. What does this mean for second-parent adoptions, though?
The Vermont law is based on the Uniform Parentage Act (UPA), a model law that can act as a guide for state laws. The UPA is a creation of the Uniform Law Commission, which since 1892 “provides states with non-partisan, well-conceived and well-drafted legislation that brings clarity and stability to critical areas of state statutory law.” Vermont is only the second state to adopt a version of the updated 2017 UPA; the first was Washington State, which did so in 2017.
GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders notes that the new law, “will promote the well-being of all children, particularly those born to LGBTQ parents, never-married parents and children born through assisted reproduction.” Among other provisions of the new law, Vermont now recognizes legal parent-child relationships in the following situations:
- the person and the person who gave birth to the child are married to each other and the child is born during the marriage; or
- the person and the person who gave birth to the child were married to each other and the child is born not later than 300 days after the marriage is terminated by death, annulment, declaration of invalidity, divorce, or dissolution; or
- the person and the person who gave birth to the child married each other after the birth of the child and the person at any time asserted parentage of the child and the person agreed to be and is named as a parent of the child on the birth certificate of the child; or
- the person resided in the same household with the child for the first two years of the life of the child, including periods of temporary absence, and the person and another parent of the child openly held out the child as the person’s child.
Momentum for the law began after the 2017 case Sinnott v. Peck, when the Vermont Supreme Court ruled in favor of Sarah Sinnott, a mom whose former partner sought to block her relationship with the daughter they jointly adopted. The moms were never married. In the ruling on that case, GLAD tells us, “the Court called on the legislature to modernize its laws and provide clarity to families and courts about legal parentage.” Vermont then formed a study commission with a broad range of stakeholders to review the state’s parentage laws and make recommendations to the legislature. GLAD worked with advocates for the law and offered technical assistance. Sponsored by Rep. Maxine Grad (D), the bill passed with broad bipartisan support in both houses of the legislature. It becomes effective January 1, 2019.
What does this mean for second-parent adoptions, however? Are they still necessary in Vermont and Washington? Patience Crozier, senior staff attorney with GLAD, told me (my emphasis):
Under the UPA, families who have judicial decrees of parentage, whether through adoption or a parentage action, have the full security that judicial decrees afford, meaning recognition throughout the United States. Another route to establish parentage under the UPA is the voluntary acknowledgement of parentage (“VAP”) process. A voluntary acknowledgement of parentage has the same force and effect as a judicial decree and is an easy and accessible way to establish parentage that is of great benefit to children and families. But as we have seen in other contexts, establishing parentage through a VAP is an emerging area of parentage protection, and the belt and suspenders approach of a second-parent adoption remains best practice until there is widespread acceptance.
She added, however, “The Vermont Parentage Act clearly lays out who can be a parent, who can access the courts, and how to establish parentage. It protects all children, regardless of the circumstances of their birth. This type of clarity, accessibility and equality is so positive for Vermont children and families. I am thrilled that Vermont has taken such thoughtful, positive action on behalf of children and families.”
Kudos to Vermont and Washington. These laws address critical needs of families today, and will, I hope, go a long way to settling custody disputes and other legal nastiness without the long, drawn-out court battles of yore, while also providing the comfort and security of clear legal protections for all families.