GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender) Adoption

Jennifer has extensive experience in finalizing adoptions for the LGBT community in Maryland and the District of Columbia. Jennifer was among the first attorneys to handle second parent adoptions in Maryland and has been handling them in both D.C. and Maryland for over 10 years now. She has lectured, written and taught other legal professionals about second parent adoptions and is highly quailified and well known by the courts as a professional, efficient and ethical adoption attorney.

If a birth family is placing their child with a LGBT family, she will work with the LGBT family to create an adoption plan with the birth family so that the adoptive parents may bring the child home directly from the hospital. She handles every aspect of the adoption from the adopton plan, ICPC processing and finalization.

Jennifer also routinely handles second parent adoptions when one of the partners is a genetic parent and his or her partner is adopting the child whether the child was conceived with known donor or unknown donor, through surrogacy or egg or embryo donation. Jennifer has also successfully obtained pre-birth orders in certain cases involving LGBT clients when surrogacy or donors are utilized allowing both parents to be listed on the birth certificate when the child is born.

Client feedback demonstrates that Jennifer one of the top adoption attorneys for the LGBT community. To read the client comments, look Jennifer up on www.avvo.com. Jennifer offers no cost in person initial consultations for LGBT families.

In the District of Columbia and throughout the state of Maryland, gay and lesbian individuals— both single individuals and couples— are eligible to adopt through an agency, foster care or through a private placement adoption.

Gay and lesbian parents should file for a second parent adoption after one of the partners has a biological child with a known or unknown sperm donor or gestational surrogate, or adopts as a single parent. (Note that surrogacy is illegal in the District of Columbia).

Once the child is born or adopted by one partner, the other partner files for a second parent adoption of the child. Upon finalization, both partners are legally recognized as the child’s parents and have equal rights and responsibilities to the child including access, child support and all the other obligations as any parent has to their child.

For those considering such an arrangement, Jennifer will advise and prepare the appropriate agreements whether for egg or sperm donor, de facto parent, parenting or co-parenting as well as guardianship documents, medical and school authorizations, advance directives, power of attorney, health care directives, HIPPA release and other necessary documents to secure each partner’s parenting role until a final adoption decree is granted.


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