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Family structures across Ontario are diverse, including LGBTQ+ and blended families. In many families, non-biological parents play a significant role in children’s lives as they grow up. This is true whether you are a step-parent by marriage, your child was born via surrogate, or you have not obtained formal legal recognition of your parental role.
When it comes to non-biological relationships, many questions arise about parental rights and obligations. Regardless of sexual orientation, it’s important for families to understand how principles like decision-making responsibility and child support are handled in such situations.
At Gelman & Associates, our Toronto family lawyers support LGBTQ+ families in understanding and asserting their rights under Ontario law. Whether you’d like to explore adoption or you’re navigating decision-making responsibilities during your divorce, we can help. To schedule a consultation and discuss your situation, contact our legal team today.
What Are Parental Rights for Non-Biological Parents?
Although questions about non-biological parental rights can affect any family, no matter their orientation or gender, they can be very relevant to many couples who parent children together in LGBTQ+ relationships. If you and your partner decide to separate or divorce, you may still have the right to pursue decision-making responsibility or parenting time (formerly custody and access), even if you are not biologically related to the child involved.
Under Ontario family law, a person who acts like a parent may be legally treated as one, regardless of their legal or biological connection to a child. When you apply for decision-making responsibility, the court will take into account the best interests of the child when making its decision. This means that if the court believes your removal from a child’s life would negatively affect them, they may grant you parental rights.
To prove this, you’ll need to demonstrate your direct involvement in a parental role. You can do so by providing evidence of your connection to a non-biological child, such as:
- Family or holiday photos
- Evidence of shared routines you participated in
- Explanations of the caregiving roles you performed (such as feeding, transportation, attending school meetings, etc.)
- And more
It should also be noted that the preferences of the child may be taken into account when the court is making its decision. This is especially true for adolescent children over the age of 10-12. If the child identifies you as a parental figure, the courts may grant you parenting time or other privileges.
What are Parental Obligations for Non-Biological Parents?
Because non-biological parents can be granted legal and parental rights over children, they may also face legal obligations and repercussions when they leave. As a result, if you’ve formed a significant, long-term bond with a child, especially if another parent is relatively absent, you might be required to pay child support.
If a parent with primary decision-making responsibility over a child (or who is biologically related to the child) requests child support from you after a separation or divorce, the courts will likely require you to pay support based on the Child Support Guidelines.
Any person who is deemed to have been a parental figure in a child’s life prior to separation or divorce may be obligated to pay child support. This goes for any person who has parented children they are not biologically related to, including LGBTQ+ partners.
How Can Non-Biological LGBTQ+ Families Protect Their Parenting Rights?
Parent-child relationships are extremely strong and important, regardless of whether they’re biological or not. If you co-parent a child to whom you are not related, there are steps you can take to ensure that you retain parental rights.
Adoption is a strong option for individuals who would like parental rights over children they’re not directly related to. If you and a same-sex partner adopt a child together, you’ll both be considered that child’s legal parents. As a result, you’ll retain the same parental rights as any other biological couple. If you are a step-parent who marries a person with a biological child from another partnership, you may apply to adopt that child as well. It should be noted that you must be a current spouse of the other legally recognized parent to qualify for a second-parent adoption order.
You may also consider obtaining a declaration of parentage, if necessary. A declaration of parentage is a court order recognizing a person as a child’s legal parent. The legislation that governs declarations of parentage does not define parentage “solely on the basis of biology,” meaning that an individual can apply even without a genetic connection. Relative to second-parent adoption, declarations of parentage are for situations where the person seeking parental rights is separated or divorced from the child’s already recognized legal parent.
Both adoption and declarations of parentage can be an important legal step for LGBTQ+ couples who decide to parent a child together, use assisted reproduction, or surrogacy. With the help of a family lawyer, you can assess your parental rights before, during, or after a separation. They can help you clarify your entitlements, determine your potential obligations, and help you strengthen your legal parentage when necessary.
Navigating Your Parental Rights as a Non-Biological Parent? Contact Gelman & Associates Today
Non-biological parents in both blended and LGBTQ+ families can have both rights and obligations towards children under Ontario law. Whether you’re seeking parenting time after a separation or you’re trying to understand your child support obligations, legal support is essential. At Gelman & Associates, our Toronto family lawyers can help you navigate your parental rights as a non-biological or LGBTQ+ parent. Contact us today for experienced legal guidance.
