The Law

Hi there, We live in California and my partner was inseminated and carried our twins. We are registered domestic partners so, under the law, our hospital named me as the other parent. We live in Long Beach and we didn't have any trouble. The birth certificate actually says parent and parent (rather than the old mother/father). Then, I adopted the twins under the step parent adoption law - as registered domestic partners in CA. So, I am totally and legally their parent. We are very fortunate to live in such a state as I know others do not have these opportunities available. Even though we did take a step backwards recently with banning gay marriage!! ;-( Anyhow, we had a great attorney who deals with all of this. She is in Orange County. There are tons available and resources on line as well as in your local LN or Advocate. I hope this helps and best of luck!!

Your rights as a non-bio parent would definitely be increased if you both signed up as domestic partners. And even then, you should still do a second parent adoption.

Here is a link to HRC's website that details all of the various LGBT laws in California:
http://www.hrc.org/laws_and_elections/state.asp?state=California&btnG.x=...

So, WonderTwinMama is right on the money.

And yes, do consult a family practice attorney to get everything legal, preferably an LGBT friendly one. Your child deserves no less.

Congrats to both of you!

Louie