Today, the U.S. Supreme Court declined review of the Box v. Henderson case filed by the State of Indiana in June of 2020, which presented the Court with the issue of whether a state may adopt a biology-based birth certificate system that includes a rebuttable presumption that a birth mother’s husband-but not wife-is the child’s
Bostock, A Lesson in Diplomacy, and Always Take the Picture
I had the opportunity to attend the 2019 John Hemphill Dinner with members of our firm and other guests, where Justice Neil Gorsuch was the featured speaker. After the event concluded, the attendees had a brief opportunity to meet and take a picture with Justice Gorsuch. I posed for a picture alongside my mentor and
Is there really a presumption of maternity? Texas court says YES!
A new opinion out of the Court of Appeals in the Thirteenth District of Texas applies the paternity presumption under the Texas Uniform Parentage Act to a female non-bio parent in a same sex marriage, where the child was born during the parties’ marriage.
Jennifer Treto appealed the trial court’s ruling, arguing that she is
Top 5 tips for LGBTQ+ custody litigation
As I reflect on my first year of practicing family law (including divorce and child custody in Dallas, Texas), I realize that there were many moments where I felt the weight of the responsibility of my new title very heavily on my shoulders. Because I was a paralegal for so many years before law school,
Don’t try this at home! Parental donor agreements
The topic of Sperm Donor Agreements has recently risen in discussion between same-sex couples wanting start their families using alternative reproductive methods and how the law can impact their ability to parent. Some questions have been:
- When is a sperm donor legal?
- Is a sperm donor a parent?
- Can a sperm donor get rights to
Parameters of an LGBT custody case
LGBT relationships are still a relatively new construct in a legal system that has traditionally been focused almost exclusively on two-parent, opposite gendered relationships. Some courts lag behind in addressing custody issues with same-sex partners, mostly due to inexperience and inconsistency in the laws.
Because same-sex parents cannot biologically birth children together, the legal definition
After the Breakup: Same Sex Couples with Children
For most couples with children, a breakup in their relationship does not equate to losing their children. However, when it comes to same sex couples, particularly those who never married, there are legal barriers that prevent them from asserting their rights as parents to their children.
In a recent case out of the Fourth Court
Unique challenges of same sex custody cases in Texas
The right for same-sex couples to marry, and also divorce, has been in place in the U.S. for several years now. Same-sex relationships have normalized somewhat from being a unique anomaly to a run-of-the-mill occurrence. Even in some of the more conservative counties and courts that we practice in at our firm, gay marriage is
Equal Parent Benefits for All Couples
Suzan and Kimberly McLaughlin, a married lesbian couple, conceived a child using artificial insemination with an anonymous donor in 2011. When the parties later separated in 2013, Kimberly began restricting Suzan’s access to the child. Suzan filed a lawsuit seeking to be recognized as a parent that same year. In April 2016, the trial court
Lesbian Couple Disqualified from Adopting Refugee Child
So, can a lesbian couple adopt a refugee kid through Catholic Charities of Fort Worth? Funny you should ask.
When Fatma Marouf and Bryn Esplin, both attorneys and professors at Texas A&M University, learned that there were as many as 300,000 homeless or unaccompanied refugee children worldwide, they decided to adopt or foster one. They