Twin Cities Attorneys Handling GLBT Issues

What is Second Parent Adoption?

If you are in a lesbian or gay relationship and have a child with your partner, Minnesota law requires a special hearing to grant parental rights to the second parent. This applies to partners of women who have given birth to the child, or to partners of men or women who have previously adopted the child. There are numerous requirements for filing a second parent adoption, which the lawyers at Cloutier & Brandl have experience drafting. The whole process generally takes two to four months depending on the county and whether or not there is a backlog.

How can you protect the second parent's rights before the adoption is finalized?

When you hire Cloutier & Brandl to represent you in your second parent adoption, we immediately draft a Standby Custodian Designation to protect your rights while you wait for the adoption to be finalized. This designation allows the legal parent to grant custody rights to her or his partner in the event of incapacity or death and can even be drafted and notarized prior to the child's birth.

What is a domestic partnership and why do I need one?

Minnesota does not allow gays or lesbians to marry and does not protect GLBT relationships. A domestic partnership agreement is essentially the equivalent of a prenuptial agreement. It protects the integrity of your relationship, if that relationship dissolves, by laying a framework for the potential division of joint and separate property, assets and debts. If you are not legally married in Minnesota, virtually nothing is assumed when it comes to dividing your property assets and debts. If you and your partner are unable to resolve the dissolution of your partnership, the courts will look to your domestic partnership agreement to determine the proper course of action. The lawyers at Cloutier & Brandl help you develop a thorough legally binding agreement which reflects both of your needs and desires.

Should I have a will or a trust?

A will and a trust are both instruments for dispersing your assets when you die. If you are married in Minnesota, your assets go automatically to your spouse, but if you are not married and do not have a will or trust, your assets will go automatically to your blood or adoptive family. A will is the simpler of the two documents and encompasses the needs of most people if you do not have minor children.

Two advantages of a trust are: 1) the assets are transferred almost immediately, rather than having to go through probate, and 2) you can completely control where your money and assets go for the life of your survivors if you so desire. For example, if you have minor children and leave everything to them in a will, they will inherit everything at the age of 21. With a trust, you can control when your children receive the money and how they are allowed to spend it.

Do I need a Health Care Directive?

A Health Care Directive allows you to designate a particular person (or persons) to control your medical care when you are unable to communicate for yourself. This is an important document for GLBT partners because you will not automatically have this right. In some states, you will not even be allowed to visit your domestic partner in the hospital. A Health Care Directive gives you the legal right to be at your partner's bedside, to control their health care when they are unable to control it on their own, to have access to their medical records when necessary, and to control what happens to their body if they die. There is no such thing as a "one size fits all" Health Care Directive. At Cloutier & Brandl, we draft a document which expresses all of your personal wishes and needs.

What is a Power of Attorney?

A Power of Attorney allows you to appoint someone to handle your financial affairs in the event that you become incapacitated and cannot attend to them on your own.

Please see our resources page if you have further questions, or feel free to email us for something more specific.

Cloutier & Brandl, P.A.
12 S. 6th Street, Suite 510
Minneapolis, MN 55402
Phone: (612) 332-5100
Fax: (612) 344-1220
Toll Free: (800) 878-2334

At the law offices of Cloutier & Brandl, P.A. in Minneapolis, we represent clients throughout the Twin Cities Metro area, including St. Paul, St. Louis Park, Golden Valley, Plymouth, Maple Grove, Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Fridley, Bloomington and Roseville; and in Hennepin County, Ramsey County, Washington County, Anoka County, Dakota County, Carver County, Scott County, Wright County and Sherburne County, in addition to locations outside the Metro area.