Since the Supreme Court ruling on marriage in June, I have been working with several other attorneys on getting the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) to update their policies to make them consistent with those of opposite-sex couples with regard to vital records, including birth certificates and death certificates. In August, DSHS released new regulations allowing same-sex couples to list both parents on a birth certificate. Thus, parents who are married at the time their child is born will be able to list both parents on the birth certificate. Parents who are not married will be able to list both parents’ names on the birth certificate following the adoption of their child.
It will take DSHS several weeks to update their system to allow for the amended birth records, but this process should be in place soon.
In light of these changes many clients have asked if adoption is still necessary. The answer is emphatically yes; the birth certificate does not create a legal parent-child relationship.
For more information on DSHS’ new policy, click here.
Questions? Feel free to contact me.
