Where can you not adopt your own son?

Vince524

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Why in Texas, of course.

A judge in Texas has denied a same-sex couple’s petition to adopt their month-old twin boys.


Jason Hannah, 36, and Joe Riggs, 33, are the proud fathers of twins Lucas and Ethan, who were born of the same surrogate mother. Each biologically fathered one of the twins, and the boys — who are half-brothers — share an egg donor. One child is biologically Hanna’s, the other is Riggs.’

But neither Hannah nor Riggs, who were married in Washington D.C. last year, are listed as fathers on either of their sons’ birth certificates. They have petitioned to add each of their names to their biological sons’ birth certificates and to cross-adopt, or second-parent adopt, the boys, reports KDFW-TV.

But the judge, who says she “strictly follows the law,” has denied the couple’s adoption request.

And here's another reason for gay marriage to be legal.
 

milkweed

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Why in Texas, of course.



And here's another reason for gay marriage to be legal.

Is this really about gay marriage or screwy state adoption laws? Just asking cause while there are a TON of kids in need of adopting in the state of Iowa hubs and I are too old according to state law, he's 60 and I'm 48.
 

Cyia

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Is this really about gay marriage or screwy state adoption laws? Just asking cause while there are a TON of kids in need of adopting in the state of Iowa hubs and I are too old according to state law, he's 60 and I'm 48.

The judge's hands were tied until the overturn of the same-sex marriage ban goes through. Right now, it's being contested, so the old laws still apply and there's literally no way to add two men or two women to one birth certificate. (at least according to the reports of the case I saw this morning). In those reports, it sounded like the judge was on the dads' side, and apologetic over the fact that there was literally no space for the second dad's name on the certificates, though the quote in the OP sounds different. I have no idea which is actually the case, but it's likely that the issue will resolve once the ban is officially lifted. (I'm not sure how they're handling the classification of twins with different fathers, as it seems like that would be a wrench in the paperwork, too.)

None of that helps these guys right now, though.
 
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kaitie

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The part that boggles my mind is it sounds like they can't get their names on the birth certificate of the sons who are biologically theirs. How is it possible to deny a biological father his name on the birth certificate?
 

Roxxsmom

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Maybe because they were born at the same time and to the same mom. Usually (though not always--fraternal twins occasionally have different dads, even if conceived the old-fashioned way), the kids would have the same biological father in this situation, and the law hasn't caught up with the realities of in vitro fertilization and paternity testing. So maybe it's not specifically a dig at same-sex couples in this case.

But there's no question in my mind that there need to be laws allowing marriage and adoption for same sex couples.
 

Cyia

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The part that boggles my mind is it sounds like they can't get their names on the birth certificate of the sons who are biologically theirs. How is it possible to deny a biological father his name on the birth certificate?
Each dad is being put on the certificate of the child that's biologically his. They can't be put on the certificate of their biological child's twin because there's no allowance on the certificate for two men (or two women) - only a mother and father. (For health reasons, I do hope they keep the biological mom's name on there, or at least as an attachment.)

Each dad wanted to legally adopt their non-biological son, so that if something happened to one dad, the rest of the family would be legally protected and preserved. But, since the strike-down of the ban on same-sex marriage is being challenged (or appealed) in the state, the old laws are still in force, meaning their marriage isn't recognized, and they can't adopt each other's biological son.

The judge said she "couldn't" allow it, not that she "wouldn't," which I take to mean a current legal stipulation preventing her from doing so. (That's how the earlier local stories sounded, anyway.) I have seen other sources state that judges have some leeway to interpret the current laws, but I don't really understand much of it, so I can't assume what she is and isn't able to do. (We need one of our lawyer-members on this thread...)

The only certainty I've seen mentioned is that once the marriage ban is completely in effect, the roadblock will disappear and things will progress as the dads want.
 

cornflake

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It sounds like they need to change the state law, though I don't know how amenable Texas would be to this politically :(

It sounds like a nice FF&C case to run up the ladder. I've been waiting for one to topple the thing and end up legalizing same-sex marriage ever since Mass. but so far none have gotten that far, afaik.
 
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DancingMaenid

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Each dad is being put on the certificate of the child that's biologically his. They can't be put on the certificate of their biological child's twin because there's no allowance on the certificate for two men (or two women) - only a mother and father. (For health reasons, I do hope they keep the biological mom's name on there, or at least as an attachment.)

The article says that only the surrogate mother is listed on the birth certificates. So it doesn't sound like the men are even listed as their biological sons' fathers, which really doesn't make sense to me. I can understand not putting the fathers' names on the birth certificates automatically, because many states have laws where more steps need to be taken if the parents aren't married. But why can't the fathers and the mother sign statements of paternity, or, hell, have paternity tests done?
 

cornflake

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The article says that only the surrogate mother is listed on the birth certificates. So it doesn't sound like the men are even listed as their biological sons' fathers, which really doesn't make sense to me. I can understand not putting the fathers' names on the birth certificates automatically, because many states have laws where more steps need to be taken if the parents aren't married. But why can't the fathers and the mother sign statements of paternity, or, hell, have paternity tests done?

It's a total guess, but if they can't list two fathers + one mother on the cert., maybe they didn't want to pick and choose.

Either one would have to be on both and the other would be out or they'd have to choose one each. If they'd adopted in a state that was more open as to the sex of parents, the certificates would likely have been reissued with only their names, cutting out the surrogate. Maybe they were figuring the first one didn't matter, as it'd be replaced?
 

Celia Cyanide

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The article says that only the surrogate mother is listed on the birth certificates. So it doesn't sound like the men are even listed as their biological sons' fathers, which really doesn't make sense to me. I can understand not putting the fathers' names on the birth certificates automatically, because many states have laws where more steps need to be taken if the parents aren't married. But why can't the fathers and the mother sign statements of paternity, or, hell, have paternity tests done?

Yeah, that was what I saw, too. That makes no sense. The law probably hasn't caught up with situations like this, but why would each dad not be allowed to have his name on the birth certificate of the son who was biologically his? Is that really the way they would handle a situation with a surrogate mom? Because straight couples have been having children that way for a long time, too. It doesn't seem fair to anyone to only have the surrogate mom listed. The article even says that she is not the egg donor and has no biological relationship to the babies.
 

Celia Cyanide

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It's a total guess, but if they can't list two fathers + one mother on the cert., maybe they didn't want to pick and choose.

Either one would have to be on both and the other would be out or they'd have to choose one each.

They wouldn't have to choose one each. Each dad is the biological father of one of the twins.
 

shakeysix

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If each twin's birth certificate listed only his bio father, if the couple split up, and couples do divorce, deciding legal custody might give one twin to each father--like The Parent Trap. The state needs to change the law to allow both fathers to sign on both certificates or they (the state's family court systems) are going to face years of legal hassles down the road. --s6
 
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Vince524

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Also, what happens if, God forbid, there's a car accident and one father is killed and his bilogical son is injured. The other father won't be able to decide treatment or possibly even visit.
 

robjvargas

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I'm not sure what, exactly, needs fixing, but I'm all for fixing it.
 

Cranky

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Healthcare POA, which requires nothing but a notarized signature.

It's a stopgap measure at best, but it's better than nothing, which is what they currently have. I hope they're looking into it.
 

Cyia

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Healthcare POA, which requires nothing but a notarized signature.

That still wouldn't guarantee parental custody. POA expires upon death.

You can technically will your kids to anyone you want, but the court can give custody to someone else. If a grandparent or other biological relative steps up and contests guardianship, it'll mean going to court at the very least.
 

cornflake

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They wouldn't have to choose one each. Each dad is the biological father of one of the twins.

They would have to choose one each.

They're both parents to both.

Aside from the legal and custodial issues with only listing themselves on one - making them choose isn't right. The adoption should excise the surrogate and leave them as the parents, as they're the parents. It's the same problem as leaving a surrogate or sperm donor for a heterosexual couple on the cert. You legally adopt and a new cert is issued.

Also, they may have no idea, nor desire to ever know, which kid is biologically tied to which parent. The guys I've heard of doing that have not known.