LAW IN ALTERNATIVE RELATIONSHIPS

Legal Services For All Families

Surrogacy Law

Families come in many different varieties and we are prepared to assist you with your family law needs, regardless of how you define family. Nevada law does not specifically provide protection for gay and lesbian couples and your rights including child custody, visitation, and property may not be protected without taking steps to make your intentions clear in the event of a relationship break up, health crisis or death. As the variety of human relationships creating families grow, so does the scope of family law. Courts are often asked to decide novel issues that arise as a result of non-traditional relationships in effort to define rights and obligations. Setting out in writing what you and your partner intend can help you proceed through the Court process should you ever be unfortunate enough to end up fighting about your children or property.

We can help you with adoptions, guardianships and other contractual arrangements to protect your family including Parenting Agreements and Partnership Agreements. You should also ensure that you have a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care Decisions so that if you are incapacitated, the person you designate can make health care decisions for you.

What is a Single Parent Adoption?

A single parent adoption is where an individual adopts a child, rather than a couple adopting a child. A single parent adoption is an option even if there are other adults living with the adoptive parent. It is very common for gay and lesbian people to adopt children as individuals. The downside to this is that the other member of the couple has no legally recognized rights as a parent to the adopted child. This lack of rights can have an impact on employee benefits such as health insurance. It could also cause custody problems if the couple splits up. Nevada law does not currently allow two adults of the same gender to adopt a child. Therefore, Parenting Agreements can make your expectations clear in the event your relationship ends and there are issues regarding custody, support, and visitation. A Parenting Agreement will specify that you both consider yourself parents of your child with all of the rights and obligations that accompany parenthood. The Agreement should specify that you each intend for the parent child relationship to continue even if the relationship between the parents ends.

Does the Court Recognize Parenting Agreements?

This is an unsettled area of law and Courts are ambivalent when it comes to same-sex partners continuing a parenting relationship with a non-biological child. While it often makes sense to work out an agreement on your own or hire a mediator to negotiate a settlement, you may find yourself in Court. In Nevada, NRS 125C.050 provides an adult who has resided with a child an ability to seek visitation with the child if the adult and child have developed a meaningful relationship. In the event of a contested visitation matter, a Parenting Agreement would be helpful evidence for the parent seeking visitation pursuant to this provision of Nevada law.

What Is A Partnership Agreement?

Partnership Agreements can be complex. The presence of significant assets, children, and ex-spouses complicate what could be a straightforward contract. We make sure that Partnership Agreements are complete and address all matters that may arise during the life of the Agreement. A Partnership Agreement should resolve questions related to hospital access during illness, powers of attorney and healthcare directives, division of property in the event of break up, management of assets and property during the relationship, and health care benefits.

The real test of a Partnership Agreement is when the Agreement is dissolved. A well-crafted Agreement will define what happens in the event of dissolution in order to minimize conflict and financial and emotional expense at the end of a relationship.  If you are in a long-term relationship it may make sense to formalize your relationship to protect yourself and your partner.