The Massachusetts Parentage Act is proposed legislation designed to create clear, uniform rules for establishing legal parentage—especially for LGBTQ+ families and families formed through surrogacy or assisted reproductive technology.
When someone has a baby, the usual fears are making sure the home is baby-proof, worrying how pets will react to a new member of the family, and when the baby will sleep through the night. But for LGBTQ+ families, and other families who took a nontraditional path to parenthood, they have the added fear of their legal parentage over their children not being recognized by the state.
Legal parentage is the foundation from which legal rights and responsibilities between children and parents stem. The right to make medical decisions, child support, health insurance coverage, recognition by other states, and custody all flow from legal parentage. Without it, families can be left vulnerable.
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Why Legal Parentage Matters
Legal parentage affects core rights and responsibilities between parents and children, including medical decision-making, custody, financial support, and recognition across state lines. When parentage is unclear or unrecognized, families may face avoidable legal risk during emergencies or disputes.
Problems With the Current Process
To protect these rights, LGBTQ+ families and other families who have children through surrogacy or assisted reproductive technology often must go through expensive and invasive legal processes to have parentage recognized by the state. In many cases, children must be formally adopted by the family to establish legal parentage.
This process can cost thousands of dollars, require deeply personal disclosures, and take at least six months to complete. These challenges highlight why the Massachusetts Parentage Act is needed—to provide clearer, more uniform rules so families have a reliable path to legal parentage without unnecessary barriers.
Some families also struggle simply because they do not know where to start, and the law has been described as murky enough that courts have asked legislators for clearer and more consistent standards.
A Real-World Example
In a recent NBC10 Boston interview that our own Attorney Annika Bockius-Suwyn participated in, GLAD Attorney Patience Crozier shared a story involving a child conceived through assisted reproductive technology who was held in foster care for two years because legal parentage had not been established. Watch the full video here.
What the Massachusetts Parentage Act Would Change
The Parentage Act would provide a clear, uniform path for establishing legal parentage for every child, regardless of how a family was formed. It would outline different legal routes to parentage and clarify how to secure legal recognition under each path.
Ambiguity and fear currently surround legal parentage laws, but the Parentage Act would provide a clearer process and greater predictability for families across the Commonwealth.
If you need guidance on legal parentage steps, explore our family law / LGBTQ+ family law services
Next Steps for Massachusetts Parentage Protections
If you want to support clearer parentage protections, consider reaching out to your state senator or state representative to express your views on theMassachusetts Parentage Act.
If you have questions about legal parentage or how to protect your family, please contact us to discuss your options.