Effective as of January 1, 2025, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts had implemented the Massachusetts Parentage Act (“MPA”). The MPA has expanded parenting relationships by:
* Replacing the terms “mother” and “father” with “parent” and “person who gave birth;”
* Creating a process for children establish parentage; and
*Clarifying ways in which parentage can be defined (ie. giving birth, adoption, voluntary acknowledgement, court order, presumption, genetic connection, de facto, or intended parentage).
It will be really interesting to see how these new laws will be further defined in future years. We expect that there will be a tremendous amount of litigation surrounding presumption, genetic connections and intended parentage.
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