A simple, free form that gives both parents, regardless of gender, legal parentage of a child born to one of them, with the force of a court decree? Such a thing exists in a small but growing number of states, as the Associated Press recently reported. That’s terrific progress—but there’s still a long way to go before it’s a widespread option for securing parentage.
A handful of states will now (or soon) allow a birth parent and the intended other parent to complete a simple “voluntary acknowledgement of parentage” form at the hospital, giving them both legal rights to the child, reported Alanna Durkin Richer in an AP piece last week. “The ability to access a VAP to establish parentage is a real game-changer for LGBTQ parents,” GLAD Senior Staff Attorney Patience Crozier told me in an interview today.
Once the VAP is signed, both parents’ names go on the birth certificate. Unlike a birth certificate, however, a VAP “has the force and effect of a court decree of parentage and should be recognized in all states,” Crozier explained.
The forms, currently available to couples of any gender in Massachusetts, Vermont, and Nevada (and Washington state early next year and California in 2020) evolved from “voluntary acknowledgement of paternity” forms that unmarried, different-sex couples could sign to secure the father’s legal rights. The Nevada legislature passed a bill this year to include couples of any gender on their forms, and as I wrote earlier this year, California, Vermont, and Washington modified their forms as part of a broader revision of their parentage laws. Massachusetts updated its forms this past July after pressure from GLAD in the wake of a case involving a nonbiological mom. (Crozier discussed the pending change in a guest piece here last fall.) Unlike the other states, however, Massachusetts only allows unmarried couples to sign a VAP, although Crozier said legislation could be introduced to change that.
The forms seem extraordinarily simple, especially compared with the paperwork often needed to do a second-parent adoption. Here’s Vermont’s form; Massachusetts does not seem to have theirs online yet, but it’s a one-pager with an additional page of instructions. (It exists, though, so ask at the hospital or your town clerk’s office if you need it.)
That brings us to the big question: Do we still need to do second-parent adoptions in states that offer VAPs? VAPs would seem to offer the same level of court-recognized protection. But Cathy Sakimura, deputy director and family law director at the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), told me in September when I spoke with her about the new California parentage laws, “Yes, we do still recommend second parent adoptions or parentage judgments. The form signed at the hospital (which will not be available until 2020) should be recognized in other states, but we advise people to get court orders until more states have recognized this, as people are likely to face hostility in these early days of such laws.” I asked her again today, and she told me, “We absolutely recommend the same for all states.”
Crozier concurs. She said, “VAPs are an incredible step forward in providing protection for children,” but added, “Until it’s more widely recognized, it’s still more secure to do a second-parent adoption.”
(And if you don’t understand why a second-parent adoption or court order is stronger than a birth certificate, here’s a short NPR piece that addresses the issue.)
Nevertheless, the sudden burst of VAP forms (or “voluntary declaration of parentage” forms in California) for couples of any gender has to be one of the highlights of the year for LGBTQ parents. Spreading them to other states could be a defining mission for 2019.