Protecting the Rights of Transgender Parents and Their Children: A Guide for Parents and Lawyers

• NCJ Number: 243089
• Author(s): Leslie Cooper
• Date Published: July 2013
• Length: 32 pages
• Agencies: NIJ
• Publication Type: Guideline

Annotation

This guide presents information for parents and lawyers on protecting the rights of transgender parents and their children.

Abstract

This guide, developed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), provides advice for parents and lawyers on protecting the rights of transgender parents and their children. The primary purposed of the guide is to provide information for transgender parents and their lawyers to assist them in child custody disputes. The guide has two primary sections: Protecting Against Challenges to the Parental Fitness of Transgender Parents, and Protecting Against Challenges to the Legal Parental Status of Transgender Parents. The first section addresses the limited case law dealing with the relevance of a parent's gender transition or transgender status in child custody proceedings, while the second section examines the legal challenges that may occur for individuals who become parents after transitioning or coming out as a transgender individual. The first section also includes recommendations for parents to consider prior to transitioning or coming out to their families, as well as advocacy suggestions for parents and their lawyers if they become involved in a child custody dispute. The recommendations in the second section of the guide deal with information for transgender parents on securing their status as a legal parent, while the suggestions include legal arguments that parents and their lawyers can use if the transgender parents are faced with a challenge to their legal parentage. Appendixes