USA – MASSACHUSETTS Trends and Developments Contributed by: Mary H. Schmidt, Rachel A. Deering, Hannah R. Zukoff and Mariah G. Tappan, Verrill Dana, LLP
lies, dual citizenship is a benefit, not a problem. It can provide educational opportunities, employment flex - ibility, healthcare access, and a stronger connection to a parent’s country of origin. In a contested custody case, however, it often becomes a source of conflict. One parent sees opportunity; the other worries that it could become a permanent relocation. Those concerns become even more pronounced when a child is eligible for a second passport. Although a passport does not, by itself, create a risk of abduc - tion, it understandably raises questions about how easily a child could leave the United States and what legal remedies would be available if the child were not returned. Those concerns are particularly acute when the destination country is not a signatory to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction or has a poor record of enforcing its obliga - One of the most effective, and frequently litigated, safeguards against unilateral international removal is the federal passport regulation governing minors. Under 22 Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) Section 51.28, promulgated pursuant to 22 US Code (U.S.C.) Section 213 (commonly known as the Two-Parent Consent Law), any passport application on behalf of a child under sixteen generally requires the execution of both parents or legal guardians, or the submission of documentary evidence establishing the applicant’s sole parental authority. A parent who wishes to travel internationally with the child may ask the court for authority to obtain a pass - port over the other parent’s objection. Conversely, a parent concerned about international abduction may seek an order prohibiting the issuance of a passport, requiring existing passports to be surrendered, or restricting international travel altogether. Parents may also enroll in the Children’s Passport Issuance Alert Program, which notifies them if someone applies for a US passport on behalf of their child. tions under the Convention. Federal passport requirements Many of these disputes arise long before anyone books an international flight. One parent sees edu - cational opportunities, cultural experiences, or the chance to introduce a child to extended family abroad.
The other sees the possibility that the child may never return. The court’s responsibility is to balance those competing concerns while keeping the child’s best interests at the centre of the analysis. LGBTQ+ families and families formed through assisted reproduction Another emerging trend is the legal recognition of fam - ilies formed in ways that have historically received little or no recognition under the existing statutory frame - work. The Massachusetts Parentage Act (MPA) went into effect on 1 January 2025. The MPA was specifi - cally intended to protect families of all kinds, includ - ing LGBTQ+ families, and families formed through assisted reproduction. In addition to setting specific protocols for securing legal parentage for all types of families, the MPA updated the statutory use of out - dated language. Terminology like “child born out of wedlock” was updated to “non-marital child”, “ man ” and ”woman” were both updated to “persons”, “pater - nity” was updated to “parentage”. New terms such as “acknowledged parent”, “adjudicated parent”, “donor”, “surrogate” and “presumed parent” were added. The MPA guaranteed that a child is entitled to the same rights and protections under laws without regard to the marital status, gender, or sexual orien - tation of the parents, and regardless of the circum - stances of the child’s birth. Prior to the enactment of the MPA, the path and pro - cedure for non-traditional families was confusing and cumbersome, which deprived many parents of the security of legal parentage. The confusing and cumbersome process that many families had to go through could take a substantial amount of time and leave the children in limbo. For example, prior to the passage of the MPA, if the non-biological parent had not yet been legally recognised as a parent, and the party’s relationship ended, the non-biological parent had no legal rights to their child – even if they had acted as that child’s parent through the child’s entire life. Or, if the biological parent died, and the surviving parent had no legal relationship, the surviving parent could face multiple obstacles in living their day-to-day life as a parent. This also impacts other discussions for families, such as tax issues, inheritance, and insur - ance benefits, among other things.
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