Family Spotlight:
Erin and Margaret
Erin and Margaret, of Hyattsville, Maryland, met 12 years ago while volunteering at the Whitman Walker Clinic. At the time Erin was in law school at George Washington University. She graduated in 1996 and has spent her legal career doing public interest work at the Maryland Disability Law Center, and now at Whitman Walker Clinic where she is a Senior Managing Attorney. Margaret attended law school at Howard University a few years later and is now a Senior Associate at Skadden Arps, where she practices telecommunications law and is pro bono legal counsel for Equality Maryland.
Fortunately, Margaret's law firm offers generous domestic partner benefits, although they are not required to by law. Erin and Margaret have taken advantage of some of these benefits, but are required to pay taxes on the benefits that are not levied on married couples.
Several years ago Erin and Margaret decided to have a child and Erin gave birth to Jay, who is now two years old. The couple is fortunate to have the support of both sides of their family. Erin's parents and grandparents attended the birth of their son and Margaret's family traveled to New York for Jay's bris. As with many married couples, its not only the two people in the relationship, but a blending of extended family that really sustains the whole.
"Erin and I are very blessed to have the love and support of our extended family and a community of friends that enriches our lives and life of our son," says Margaret.
Yet, even with the support and assurances of family members, as an unmarried couple, Erin and Margaret were very concerned about protecting Margaret's rights: (1) to be with Erin in the hospital and (2) to be treated as baby Jay's parent. They had medical powers of attorney drawn up for Erin and the baby that appointed Margaret as the primary decision maker if Erin became unable to make decisions concerning her own health care or the baby's.
A month after Jay's birth, the couple petitioned the court for a second parent adoption that was granted within two months, however, to protect Margaret's parental rights during the interim, Erin also placed a guardianship clause in her will that appointed Margaret guardian of their child should anything happen to her prior to the completion of their second-parent adoption.
"As attorneys, we were well aware of the worse case scenarios that can befall gay and lesbian couples trying to have or adopt children. We did everything we could think of to protect the rights of our growing family. Yet even with the measures we've put in place and the thousands of dollars in legal fees, our son still has two parents who are virtual strangers in the eyes of the law. We support marriage equality because of the legal protections that civil marriage would offer our family and especially, our son," says Erin.
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