LAW - 782 Family Law: Children of LGBT Parents Seminar

(2-3 hrs.)

Examines some of the most cutting-edge legal issues in family law. Specifically, the course covers the following: how to define a parent and what constitutional rights parents have; custody and visitation issues arising for children born within heterosexual marriages when a parent later comes out as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender; family formation through adoption, foster parenting, sperm and egg donor insemination, and traditional and gestational surrogacy; whether/when the marital presumption of parentage applies to same-sex spouses; interstate and federal recognition of parentage; and custody and child support disputes when same-sex couples split up. Students also study demographic and social science research on children with gay or lesbian parents; public opinion research about lesbians and gay men raising children; arguments about the well-being of children that have come up in litigation, legislative efforts, and ballot initiatives about same-sex marriage and parenting; and international/comparative law on LGBT parents. Students follow pending litigation and legislation.