User:Friley18/Second-parent adoption

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According to the NCLR, it is legally advisable for LGBTQ+ parents to get an adoption or parentage judgment to ensure that their parental rights are fully protected in every state.

Note that where second parent adoption is illegal, it is illegal for both different sex and same-sex couples.

The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry has started that they oppose any and all discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in regards to custodial, foster, or adoptive rights.

The American Bar Association supports second parent adoptions by unmarried persons and it is the best interest of the child.

That the American Bar Association supports state and territorial laws and court decisions that permit the establishment of legal parent-child relationships through joint adoptions and second-parent adoptions by unmarried persons who are functioning as a child's parents when such adoptions are in the best interests of the child."

According to the NCLR, second parent adoption is the most common means by which LGBT non-biological parents establish a legal relationship with their child.

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Alabama
In 2016, in V.L. vs E.L.,The Alabama Supreme Court attempted to overturn a second parent same-sex adoption that was validly granted by Georgia. The United States Supreme Court ruled that The Full Faith and Credit Clause of the Constitution requires the Alabama state courts to recognize a Georgia state court’s adoption order.

In Alabama, while there currently is no law that explicitly prohibits second-parent adoption, some courts have turned down requests to adopt a same-sex spouse’s child. According to the Family Equality Council, second parent adoptions are currently not available in Alabama.

Stepparent adoption is legal in Alabama.

Nebraska
In Nebraska, any adult or a married couple jointly may adopt, but an unmarried couple may not.

In 2021, an unmarried lesbian couple sued Nebraska's health department for not allowing both of them to be on their son's birth certificate. The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services denied their request. They stated that the only routes to legal parenthood are through marriage, adoption, or being biological related. According to the lawsuit filed, Nebraska case law prohibits second-parent adoption by an unmarried non-birth parent.

Stepparent adoption is legal in Nebraska.

North Carolina
Second parent adoption is illegal in North Carolina. Married couples can jointly adopt if they've been married for 6 months or more. Individuals can adopt as well.

Stepparent adoption can only occur in North Carolina if the child's second biological parent waives their parental rights. This is only if the second biological parent is alive.

Utah
Second parent adoption is illegal in Utah. To adopt in the state of Utah, one must either be married and have permission from their spouse or single and not living with another person. Anyone cohabitating in a non-marital sexual relationship cannot adopt in Utah. The adoptee must also be 10 years younger than the adopter.

Stepparent adoption is legal in Utah.