North carolina and gay marriage

Same-sex marriage has been legally recognized in North Carolina since October 10, , when a U.S. District Court judge ruled in General Synod of the United Church of Christ v. Cooper that the state's denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples was unconstitutional. Gay marriage in North Carolina has undergone significant changes over the past decade.

In , the state passed Amendment One, a constitutional amendment defining marriage exclusively as a union between one man and one woman, effectively banning same-sex marriage. Gay marriages are now legal in North Carolina. Haas & Associates, PA has compiled a guide to answer some frequently asked questions. The short answer is that, in North Carolina, a family court will consider a same-sex couple’s marriage to begin on the date they were legally married — regardless of any period of cohabitation leading up to that point.

DOMA is the legal term for the legislation that bans gay marriage in the state of North Carolina.

There are certain jurisdictions in North Carolina that allow for domestic partnerships such as Chapel Hill and Carrboro. With U. With the legalization of gay marriage, however, many other issues are called forward, including gay couple adoption in North Carolina. These recent court rulings legalizing gay marriage have made same-sex adoption possible.

This article addresses the most common questions about adoption for gay and lesbian couples. Please bear in mind that all LGBT adoptions are unique, and the circumstances vary. Before the marriage equality ruling, only LGBT individuals could adopt children, as North Carolina did not recognize same-sex marriage. Now that it does, same-sex couples in North Carolina can adopt a child jointly as a married couple with the same requirements as any married heterosexual couple adopting or, if one individual has already adopted a child, the newly married spouse can adopt that child through a stepparent adoption.

You must have been married at least six months before your spouse can petition to adopt your child as a stepparent. The time you resided together prior to getting married is not counted; it is six months from the date you are married. North Carolina will recognize a marriage legally performed in another state. In order to complete the adoption, same-sex adoption laws in North Carolina require the following documents as originals or certified true copies:.

The parent who has legal and physical custody must consent to the adoption by the nonparent spouse. If the child is over the age of 12, he or she must consent to the same-sex adoption as well in writing. In most cases, egg and sperm donors waive their parental rights in documents executed prior to conception. If you have such a document, we anticipate the clerk will honor that document.

If there was not an agreement signed by your egg or sperm donor, then his or her written consent will be required because he or she is a legal parent. For the non-genetically related spouse, a same-sex adoption is the only way to have their name placed on the birth certificate as well. While parental consent can be a complicated matter in regard to gamete donation and terminating rights, Parker Herring Law Group, PLLC can help you complete the documentation and legal steps necessary to make your gay adoption in North Carolina possible.

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We are familiar with gay adoption in North Carolina and have experience in placing children in gay adoptions and in helping couples adopt as married couples. The law allows a parent to revoke his or her consent within seven days by furnishing written notice of revocation to the person specified in the consent. The seven days includes weekends and holidays. This is the law in North Carolina, so it is important to understand that there is a seven day period in which a birth parent can revoke his or her consent.

By law, if consent to a gay or lesbian adoption is obtained a second time, that consent is irrevocable upon the second execution. Once the same-sex adoption petition is filed, the court will order the preparation and filing of a report by either the agency that prepared the pre-placement assessment or the county department of social services. This report is required in all North Carolina adoptions with one exception; if the parent and stepparent have been married two or more years, the report is not required.

The Department of Social Services has provided post-placement services at a modest cost for stepparent adoptions. A post-placement assessment is nothing you need to stress about. Unlike the extensive pre-placement home study , a post-placement assessment is just designed to ensure that a child is adjusting well to their adoptive family and that the adoption has been conducted in the best interests of all involved.

In North Carolina, the court will set a hearing or disposition of the LGBT adoption petition after the petition is filed; this hearing will not be set until at least 90 days have passed since filing. Unless the court orders an extension, the petition will be heard less than six months after it was filed.

If the petition is unopposed, a hearing is not required. If a hearing is necessary, the court will determine whether the adoption is in the best interests of the child.