S3528 was signed into law on Monday, January 13, 2020. This new law provides for a simple and streamlined process to confirm parentage through adoption for married and civil union couples where they are both named as parents on the original birth certificate of the child and where there are no other parental rights to be terminated, primarily in situations wherwe the couple used donor gametes to achieve the pregnancy and any rights the donor could have acquired as a genetic contributor were terminated by operation of law in the appropriate venue.
Potential clients who fit these criteria will no longer be required to: 1) obtain a background check of the adopting parent; 2) make a court appearance if the application is complete with the required proofs; and 3) will not have the substantial waiting period before entry of judgment as with the regular adoption process.
The couple will receive a judgment of adoption, as with a second-parent or confirmatory adoption process used for years to confirm parentage. This process is a means of obtaining a confirmation of parentage supporting the marital presumption under NJ's UPA and providing a judgment that is entitled to full faith and credit.
This law is also useful for 1) different-sex couples where there has been use of donor gametes to confirm the parentage of the non-genetic parent and 2) former spouses/civil union partners where the child was born into the marriage/CU, but never adopted by the non-genetic parent.
I would recommend to all my colleagues to examine your pending matters. If clients can qualify for this process, it should be a more streamlined and less expensive process. While there are no Court Rules in place at this time, the statute takes effect on April 1 and I would encourage everyone to consider this process for their clients, as a traditional second parent adoption would likely take just as long if started now and at more cost and intrusion to the clients.
As always, I am happy to speak to my colleagues about this exciting step forward for LGBT couples and those using assisted reproduction to build their families
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Debra Guston Esq.
(201)447-6660
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