LGBTQ Family Planning
A LGBTQ lawyer can help Virginia same-sex couples properly secure legal parentage for their children. LGBTQ Family Planning consists of two sub-specialties:
Same-sex family planning—LGBTQ family planning protocol requires that same-sex families obtain a court order in addition to having a birth certificate that lists both parents.
Estate Planning—It’s a wise decision to plan for the future. Estate planning will help ensure your children are taken care of with a will, pour-over will, or revocable trust. Click here to learn more about our LGBTQ estate planning services.
How LGBTQ Family Planning Can Support Your Family
The end goal of LGBTQ family planning is to ensure that you and your partner will be legally recognized as parents of your child. It’s unfortunate, but there are many additional hurdles that same-sex couples need to jump through compared to different-sex couples.
This is why it’s essential to retain the services of an LGBTQ attorney who will fight hard for your rights and help set the stage for a happy future to come for you, your partner, and your new child. For example, under the United States Supreme Court ruling of V.L. v. E.L, adoption orders must be given full faith and credit throughout all states in the United States.
However, a similar ruling does not apply to birth certificates, as they are documents issued through an administrative process and are not a court order. A birth certificate is based on the relationship between spouses only and not the relationship between parent and child.
Parentage solely dependent on a birth certificate can be challenged in a divorce. There are several cases where that has happened, and parentage based solely on a birth certificate might not be recognized by all judges/courts/states/countries.
The birth certificate administrative process does not ensure that sperm donors or other possible parent rights are terminated by court order. Parentage based solely on a birth certificate may not be sufficient to adequately give a basis for passing an inheritance by interstate laws, for the child to qualify for social security benefits, and for claiming the child as a dependent under pertinent tax codes.
LGBTQ Estate Planning Considerations
Another critical aspect of same-sex family planning is for both partners to ensure that all necessary estate documents are in order. This is critical to ensure that a jointly agreed upon guardian, and backup guardian is selected for any children to avoid an intra-family custody battle.
It also is essential to ensure the orderly distribution of assets, including that such funds are placed in trust with the appointment of a trustee, and backup trustee, for any minor children who otherwise cannot benefit or access the funds until reaching the age of majority.
The critical documents to put into place include:
- A Pour-Over Will into a Trust.
- General Durable Power of Attorney
- Advanced Medical Directive with Living Will and Health Care Power of Attorney
- Burial Designation
It also is important to note that for married same-sex couples, hospitals and medical providers in Virginia must recognize the spouse for purposes of making decisions if the other spouse is incapacitated.
However, for unmarried couples, an advanced medical directive is critical to have in place to ensure that each partner has the authority to make medical decisions for the other.
Also, Virginia has a central website where advanced medical directives can be registered for medical providers to locate easily—and most individuals typically do not keep such documents with them.
LGBTQ Family Planning FAQ
What are some potential issues with artificial insemination?
There are two important issues when it comes to same-sex artificial insemination. The first is ensuring that any donor rights – whether sperm, egg or embryo donor – are properly released via a donation agreement that is entered into prior to conception. Same-sex women using a known donor without using a medical provider for artificial conception must be certain to utilize an intervening medical technology for conception and define that technology in a proper donor agreement. For donor parts obtained through a clinic or cryobank, it is essential to request a copy of the donor release language and also make sure the release language has a basis in the law of that state. Ideally it is always best to have a direct donor agreement with the donor – even if the donor is anonymous – to ensure proper reporting back of medical issues and the existence of other half or full siblings..
Can two women’s names be on a birth certificate in Virginia upon the birth of their child?
Yes! As of 2015, Virginia’s Registrar for Vital Records took the necessary steps to ensure that a child’s birth certificate can reflect two women’s names when one is the gestational mother. The form is the VS-22A form entitled “Acknowledgement of Parentage – Same-Sex Marriage – One Spouse is Gestational Mother.”
Why should I hire an LGBTQ family planning attorney over a regular family planning lawyer?
An LGBTQ attorney has the knowledge and experience to manage issues unique to LGBTQ family planning. At the Quinn Law Centers, Colleen M. Quinn is a member of the LGBT Bar, Virginia Equality Bar Association and the LGBT Committee of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine. She also is an ally with Equality Council, National Center for Lesbian Rights and Equality Virginia including working with those groups on legislation and legislative issues impacting the LGBTQI community.
Does Virginia have a state medical or family leave law?
Virginia currently does not have a medical leave law that requires private employers to provide paid family leave. If the Commonwealth employs you, you could be eligible for Paid Parental Leave thanks to an Executive Order that the Governor issued in 2018. All qualifying employers in Virginia, however, that meet certain criteria must adhere to the federal Family and Medical Leave Act. At the Quinn Law Centers, Colleen M. Quinn also is uniquely qualified in LGBT employment law issues including matters of leave and discrimination.