Guiding Nontraditional Families Through Parentage, Custody, and Medical Decision Making

Attorneys increasingly meet clients who rely on psychological or de facto parent relationships, multiple co-parents, or informal caregiving arrangements. These structures raise complex questions around establishing and preserving parentage, navigating custody standards, drafting co-parenting agreements, and protecting a client's ability to participate in medical decisions during emergencies.

The panel will discuss how practitioners and jurisdictions handle three-parent orders, de facto parentage petitions, hospital access and HIPAA disclosures, and ethical considerations when representing clients whose family structures involve overlapping or multi-client participation.

The program will provide practical guidance to help attorneys build enforceable documents, avoid gaps in authority, and respond when child custody, healthcare, or placement disputes arise within nontraditional family arrangements.

Listen as our panel of practitioners examines legal strategies to protect modern families and offers guidance on advising clients whose family structures fall outside traditional statutory models.