A Brighter Future Is Within Your Reach

A Brighter Future Is Within Your Reach

Growing a nontraditional family through adoption

On Behalf of | May 12, 2017 | Firm News, Same-Sex Couples & Divorce |

Many same-sex couples in Massachusetts want to grow their families but doing so may be a challenge. Trying to figure out the best way to go about it can be difficult. Adoption is a great way for a nontraditional family to increase in size. However, some couples may be worried that their sexual orientation may hurt their chances for adoption.

It is true that in the past, the requests of same-sex couples to adopt were not always taken seriously. However, according to current statistics, upwards of 10 million children in the United States have parents that are in same-sex relationships. That is expected to increase as more same-sex couples look to adopt or utilize other means of adding children to their families.

Same-sex adoption, as of 2016, is legal in every state. While that is the case, it does not mean that there are not any challenges to actually getting through the adoption process. Some social workers still have concerns about how the couple’s relationship will affect a child in the long run.

More studies being done on this subject have shown that children who have parents in same-sex relationships fare just as well as children with parents in heterosexual relationships. At the end of the day, it should not matter. There are numerous children in Massachusetts, and hundreds of thousands across the country, that need good homes and loving parents. A same-sex couple that is looking to grow their nontraditional family can seek legal assistance when starting the adoptive process in order to make sure everything that needs to be done is done, which can help prevent any unnecessary issues that may hurt their chances for adopting.

Source: FindLaw, “Adoption and Same-Sex Couples: Basics“, Accessed on May 9, 2017