Parenting Orders - any info?

[ema_tracey]

hi leasha
thanks for the reply, i got alot of info off the site.
still seems very confussing but exciting at the same time tho.
ema_tracey

[sareeb]

for legal advice in vic i found Over The Rainbow very helpful

[D&M]

hey folks..

Same sex parents can both be on the certificate in ACT, in NSW you can not unless its changed since last time I looked. Why not contact a Lawfirm that specialises in Family Law, if you look up LOTL (lesbians on the loose, its a magazine)on the net and go to classifieds, you will no doubt find a solicitor that specialises in same sex families.

cheers

[Indadhanu]

D & M,

The laws have recently changed... in September I believe, that grants equal legal responsibility to both parents, as well as being able to both be on the birth certificate as parents...

Lesbian mothers legal rights
Natasha Wallace
September 23, 2008
When her 16-month-old daughter was rushed to hospital in respiratory distress, Leigh Burness-Cowan, a lesbian mum, had no authority over her treatment.

Ms Burness-Cowan, 34, a high school maths teacher, is also allowed to pick up Hunter, now three, from preschool only with the permission of the birth mother, her partner, Kendi Burness-Cowan.

The Merrylands couple are among about 1000 NSW families granted equal legal rights under new laws which came into effect yesterday and allow the names of both lesbian mothers on birth certificates. The Burness-Cowans are on a waiting list of about 100 families who have inquired about new certificates.

Their children, Hunter and 17-month-old Hugo, will now have two legally recognised mothers who can sign health and education consent forms.

The NSW Attorney-General, John Hatzistergos, said the new birth certificates were part of a broad package of reforms that gave the children of female de facto couples equal parental rights and responsibilities.

Under the Miscellaneous Acts Amendment (Same Sex Relationships) Act 2008 (NSW), passed by NSW Parliament in June, children of lesbian parents in a de facto relationship will also be able to inherit both parents' assets and will have equal rights to children of heterosexual couples with regards to workers' compensation and victim compensation payments where one or both parents are killed or injured.

The laws - which are retrospective to allow for existing children - apply only to children who are conceived through artificial fertilisation who are living in domestic situations where their parents are in a lesbian de facto relationship.

Previously, under the Status of Children Act 1996, parental presumptions for artificial fertilisation only applied to heterosexual couples.

Sperm donors still do not have parental presumptions and are not listed on birth certificates.

The changes bring NSW into line with Western Australia, the ACT and the Northern Territory as well as New Zealand and Canada.

Kendi, 33, a public relations consultant, said yesterday it was the symbolic change of her partner being legally recognised "that is really powerful".

Custody, visitation rights and child maintenance come under a mix of state and federal laws that are yet to recognise same-sex couples, although the issue is before Federal Parliament.

[D&M]

wowza.. thanks Leasha.. I guess my question now is.. is there any need for a parental order? thats fabulous huh, im excited, i cant wait to tell D..

that means although you should always have a will, it means you don't necessarily have to have one drawn up for the rights of the *other* parent god forbid anything happened.

about time I say!

Thankyou again Leasha

cheers M

[Indadhanu]

RE the parent orders... I dont think theyre necessary if you're in a state that grants equal right/responsibility... the reason for a parent order would be a) for the nonbio mum to be able to make parental decisions etc, and b) to protect the nonbio mum if there was a separation, and those rights are given now (in some states...) so no real need to get a parent order i would think...?