U.S.A.: LGBTQ+ parents rush to protect their parental rights before Trump takes power

LGBTQ+ parents are reportedly hurrying to secure their parental rights before Donald Trump is inaugurated.

Attorney Meghan Alexander told the ‘Advocate’ that she typically receives about three weekly calls from LGBTQ+ parents interested in second-parent adoptions. However, the week Trump was elected, she received 26 calls, and the inquiries have continued to flow since then.

Project 2025, considered the blueprint for Trump’s administration, essentially advocates for eliminating LGBTQ+ rights and states, “Only heterosexual, two-parent families are safe for children.”

“The advice remains the same as it has been for decades: pursue a second-parent adoption,” Alexander explained. “Do not rely on the federal government or the right to marry for parental rights.”

A 2023 report from a coalition of LGBTQ+ advocacy groups noted that second-parent adoption “can be used to establish a legal relationship between a parent and a child OR to obtain an adoption decree for someone who is already a legal parent through another pathway to parentage, such as the marital presumption.” Shelbi Day, Chief Policy Officer for Family Equality, told ‘LGBTQ Nation’ upon the report’s release that even married LGBTQ+ couples shouldn’t depend solely on the marital presumption and should take extra steps to safeguard themselves.

She mentioned that the presumption could be disputed in some states and that Family Equality “strongly suggests that parents take additional steps to establish legal parentage to ensure that children have legal stability and access to all of the rights and benefits of legal parentage no matter where people travel and no matter what happens between the parents in the future.” This remains true even if both parents are listed on a child’s birth certificate, which she indicated “does not establish a legal parent-child relationship.”

Alexander gave similar advice to the ‘Advocate,’ stressing that parentage orders are not as robust as second-parent adoptions, at least in Texas, where she practices, because these orders have not undergone extensive challenges in the courts. In contrast, adoptions have been consistently upheld.

LGBTQ+ family law expert Nancy Polikoff concurred, noting that adoptions are better understood and more “universally recognized.” She remarked, “In light of potential reductions in LGBT family recognition, states that may not be inclined to acknowledge LGBT parenting could be encouraged to deny that status whenever possible.”

“No one anticipates that Obergefell will be overturned soon,” she continued. “Regrettably, parentage is one area where courts, particularly in unsupportive states, might not offer the same level of protection under a Trump administration.”

Besides the fact that many parents are not aware that this is the best approach to safeguarding their families, there is another significant barrier: second-parent adoptions can be costly.

“It makes me sick to think there are people who need this done and cannot get it done,” Haley Swenson told the 'Advocate.' Swenson and her wife, Alieza Durana, quickly pursued second-parent adoption for their son following Trump’s election victory.

Unable to afford the $3,500 (approximately £ 2,800) needed to start the process, they sought assistance from friends and family.

“It’s unclear what they want to do, and that lack of specificity is what’s really scary if you’re a queer parent because you don’t really know how to protect yourself,” Swenson said about the incoming administration. “Since we knew there was one thing we could do to protect ourselves and hadn’t done it yet, it was like, ‘OK, there are so many unknowns — let’s at least take care of what we can.’”

The best approach to obtaining legal parentage rights may vary by state. Refer to this report for more information.