Just last week, Jason Patric won an appeal that a Los Angeles Court of Appeals handed down in his fight to establish and maintain rights of his four year old son, Gus. The actor fathered Gus with a former girlfriend who conceived the child through in-vitro fertilization. Although the actor never signed a birth certificate, the court heard testimony that he did sign forms at the IVF Clinic as an … [Read more...] about Would a Sperm Donor Agreement Have Made a Difference in Jason Patric’s Quest To Be Recognized as a Father?
heARTbeat
Research Shows That Gays and Lesbians Are As Effective In Parenting As Heterosexuals
A recent review entitled “Lesbian and Gay Parents and Determination of Child Custody: The Changing Legal Landscape and Implications for Policy and Practice” published in the American Association’s new journal, Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, released in March 2014, highlighted a recent gap in the law. The gap relates to custody matters involving families with lesbian and gay … [Read more...] about Research Shows That Gays and Lesbians Are As Effective In Parenting As Heterosexuals
All Families Can Be Superheroes
April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. This issue affects more families than you might imagine, since all families experience stressful events that can increase the risk of abuse or neglect. Research has identified that the possibility that a child will experience abuse or neglect increases as the number of stressors placed on the family increase. Stressors can include parental depression, … [Read more...] about All Families Can Be Superheroes
Must Employers Offer Domestic Partner Health Insurance Benefits Post-Windsor?
Following the Supreme Court’s June 26, 2013 decision in United States v. Windsor, declaring the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) unconstitutional, employers have been rethinking employee benefits programs under expanded definitions of “spouse” and “dependent”. Although Windsor has employers thinking more broadly, it does not itself require employers to provide same-sex partner health insurance … [Read more...] about Must Employers Offer Domestic Partner Health Insurance Benefits Post-Windsor?
Adopting? The Best Question Isn’t Who or What, But Why?
Many years ago, I attended a lecture in which the speaker attempted to distinguish what “authority” means to a lawyer as opposed to a psychologist. According to the speaker, greater weight is given to legal opinions based on who issued them. For example, a decision of an appellate court carries more weight than that of a trial court. In contrast, psychologists make decisions based the “what” of … [Read more...] about Adopting? The Best Question Isn’t Who or What, But Why?
Fascinating Solutions Inspire the Ranks at ART Law Conference
This past week, I attended a conference on the state of Assisted Reproductive Technology – “A Global Approach to Family Formation” brought together nearly 1000 of my colleagues for an intense three days and made me realize that, no matter where in the world we practice ART law, we are all addressing the same issues, and all looking for creative ways to find legal solutions for our … [Read more...] about Fascinating Solutions Inspire the Ranks at ART Law Conference
