Supreme Court Makes Major Decision On Alabama Same-Sex Adoption Case

The Supreme Court has reversed a decision by the Alabama Supreme Court to not recognize a same-sex adoption that was granted in Georgia. There was no dissenting opinion in today’s Supreme Court decision. The case involved a divorced woman who had asked the courts in Alabama to enforce a Georgia judgment granting her visitation rights with her adopted children. The Supreme Court held that Alabama failed to follow its constitutional requirement to give “full faith and credit” to legal decisions made in other states. LGBT advocates are currently celebrating this new Supreme Court decision as another achievement in the ongoing legal battles over the rights of same-sex couples. Last year the Supreme Court issued a landmark decision legalizing same-sex marriage across the United States. These decisions will have a huge impact on estate planning for same-sex couples.

See Jesse Byrnes and Rebecca Savranksy, Supreme Court reverses Alabama court in same-sex adoption case, The Hill, March 7, 2016.