North Dakota court upholds ban on joint adoption by unmarried couples

In a significant ruling on family law, North Dakota's Supreme Court has affirmed that unmarried couples are prohibited from jointly adopting children, reinforcing a statutory restriction despite parental approval. The case centered on a grandmother and her domestic partner who sought to jointly adopt the woman's grandchild, with consent from both biological parents. The court determined that the state's adoption statutes do not permit joint adoption by unmarried couples, regardless of family circumstances or parental agreement.

The justices clarified that while the law remains in effect, only the state legislature holds the authority to modify adoption statutes. This distinction proved significant, as it established that judicial intervention alone cannot override existing legislative restrictions on joint adoption rights for unmarried partners.

The court did acknowledge that either party in an unmarried couple may pursue individual adoption requests separately, providing a partial avenue for legal family recognition. This distinction between joint and individual adoption applications creates a potential workaround, though it does not grant the full legal recognition that joint adoption would provide.

The ruling underscores ongoing tensions in family law between traditional statutory frameworks and evolving social structures. Advocates for unmarried couples' adoption rights may now pursue legislative remedies to challenge the restrictions, as the court has explicitly framed such changes as a matter for lawmakers rather than the judiciary.