Resources for New England Parents

LGBTQ+ Parents: We know you’re worried about the safety and security of your children.  

New England has many protections for LGBTQ+ families.

Here are steps you can take to protect your parent-child relationship, depending on which state you are in and how your family is formed:

  • Sign a voluntary acknowledgment of parentage (VAP)
    • This simple administrative form is available to both married and unmarried LGBTQ+ parents, where one parent gave birth to the child, in Vermont, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Maine. Currently unmarried LGBTQ+ parents in Massachusetts can sign a VAP and married LGBTQ+ parents will be able to do so beginning in January 2025. The VAP forms for these states are linked below. Make sure you contact vital records in your state and execute the VAP form following all instructions, including making sure you have a witness or notary and filing the form with the appropriate authorities.  
  • Seek a co-parent adoption
    • This is available to LGBTQ+ parents in all New England states. It generally involves working with an attorney. Maine, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire also have the option of a confirmatory adoption, which is a streamlined process for LGBTQ+ parents to confirm their parentage. More information is below.
  • Seek a parentage judgment 
    • Court judgments that may be sought in some states before or after a child’s birth to secure a non-genetic or non-gestational parent’s legal parentage. A judgment of parentage is often available in the context of a child born through assisted reproduction or surrogacy.

Further information and resources to support your family are available below.

General

Connecticut 

Maine 

Massachusetts

  • Massachusetts just passed the Massachusetts Parentage Act, which is effective on January 1, 2025
    • Please come to a community webinar on November 13 that will explain this new law. Register today.
  • Right now, unmarried parents of children born through assisted reproduction can sign a Voluntary Acknowledgment of Parentage (VAP) in the hospital to secure their parent-child relationship
  • Right now, LGBTQ+ parents—married and unmarried—can seek a co-parent adoption of their child in the Probate and Family Court. Co-parent adoption has been available in Massachusetts since 1993 and remains an excellent way to secure parentage. We are working on a resource to explain how to do this. For referrals for lawyers to assist you, contact GLAD Answers. 

New Hampshire

  • New Hampshire has very good protections for LGBTQ+ parents, including parentage through assisted reproduction, surrogacy, and holding out
  • Right now, LGBTQ+ parents—married and unmarried—can seek a co-parent adoption of their child. We are working on a resource to explain how to do this. Contact GLAD Answers to be connected with an attorney who can help you.
  • GLAD Law will be in New Hampshire on December 10 to meet with families about protections. More information will be posted on our website soon.

Rhode Island

Vermont