State Laws and Legislation

Michigan Adoption Law

Permits single LGBT individuals to petition to adopt? Yes.
Michigan law allows any adult or married couple to petition to adopt. MICH. COMP. LAWS ANN. § 710.24 

Permits a same-sex couple to jointly petition to adopt? No.
State courts have ruled that unmarried couples may not jointly petition to adopt.

Permits a same-sex partner to petition to adopt partner’s child or child of the relationship? No explicit prohibition.
No explicit prohibition, however one judge has acted to block such adoptions. On June 4, 2002, Archie Brown, the chief judge of Washtenaw County, ordered all county judges to stop granting second-parent adoptions to unmarried parents because the practice violated state law. Brown then transferred all pending second-parent adoption cases to himself to ensure that his directive be enforced. The Michigan American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a motion challenging his authority to transfer the cases. Brown promptly rejected the motion. It appears that no petitions for second-parent adoptions have been filed since this time.

Updated: Wed, December 09, 2009 - 1:00:17