Last month I wrote about a Polk County gay couple who adopted a child in Florida now that an appellate court has ruled that the Florida statute banning homosexuals from adopting is unconstitutional.
Today I represented a couple in a gay adoption case in Seminole County, Florida and it was one of the happiest cases I have ever had.
Christy and Grace
My clients, partners Christy and Grace, first came to see me a few years ago for estate planning. Christy was pregnant, through artificial insemination with an anonymous donor, and both were concerned about many issues including who would get custody of the child if something happened to Christy. The couple was also worried that their child would not be able to inherit from Grace or receive her government and veteran’s pension benefits. Their worries were well founded. Some of their concerns could be addressed in estate planning documents, but many could not.
As of today, Grace is the adoptive parent of their 4 year old son and has the same rights and responsibilities as Christy. No one can ever take him away from her. And their son will have all the benefits of a biological child when it comes to Grace’s governmental benefits, health insurance, etc.
It was a happy day in court with tears and smiles and lots of photo’s. Grace and Christy were proud mama’s and I was a proud lawyer – proud of my clients, our judge, our judicial system, and the State of Florida.
