• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Towleroad Gay News

Gay Blog Towleroad: More than gay news | gay men

  • Travel
  • Sports
  • Law/Justice
  • Celebrities
  • Republicans
  • Madonna
  • Books
  • Men
  • Trans Rights
  • Royals
  • Monkeypox
  • Bella Thorne used to have threesomes with Benjamin Mascolo
  • John Waters believes mainstream Hollywood films are finally as shocking as his cult movies
  • Sir Elton John is ‘back home and in good health’ after being rushed to hospital

Pennsylvania ‘Father’ and ‘Son’ Dissolve Adoption, Get Married

Jake Folsom May 31, 2015

Macarthur_novak

They might have legally been "father" and "son," but it's not what you think. Norman MacArthur (above left), 74, and Bill Novak, 76, of Erwinna, Pennsylvania are a gay couple who used adoption as an alternative to marriage in 2000.

This week, the couple were married, dissolving the adoption that they entered for estate planning reasons. The two men got together in their 20s, and they've stayed together for 52 years.

Previously, in 1994, the couple filed for a domestic partnership in New York City. When they moved to Erwinna in 2000, where their partnership was not recognized. Speaking with Yahoo Parenting, MacArthur said:

When we moved to Pennsylvania, we had both retired and we were of the age where one begins to do estate planning…We went to a lawyer who told us Pennsylvania was never going to allow same-sex marriage, so the only legal avenue we had in order to be afforded any rights was adoption.

Later in the interview, MacArthur explains that he was the son in the adoption, solely based on the technicality that Bill is two years older than him. Later in the Yahoo interview, MacArthur went on to explain that a major legal motivation for the adoption was laws regarding hospital visitation and privacy:

It struck me as fairly unusual, but we looked into it and discovered that other couples had done it. [Without the adoption] we would be legally strangers…Most importantly, [the adoption] would allow us visitation rights in a hospital, and gaining of knowledge if one of us was in the hospital…With new HIPAA privacy laws, hospitals are very constrained in what they can say to other people. If we were legally related, I would be allowed into the ER and entitled to know what Bill’s condition was if anything should happen.

Deputy legal director at Lambda Legal Hayley Gorenberg, also speaking with Yahoo, agreed on this point, saying that while these sorts of adoption were never common, they reflected the needs of couples pre-marriage equality. While not a perfect solution to the problem, this type of adoption "reflects people’s deep need to protect each other as family."

Topics: News More Posts About: adoption, Bill Novak, equality, Gay, gay adoption, gay marriage, Hayley Gorenberg, Lambda Legal, Lambda Legal, marriage, New York, News, Norman MacArthu, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, same-sex

Related Posts
  • Dysfunctional communication patterns can affect immune system function in married couples, study suggests
  • Philadelphia Enquirer: Malcolm Kenyatta is the Democrats’ future, so why can’t he be their present?
  • Former Roommate Indicted For Murder Of Florida LGBTQ Activist Jorge Diaz-Johnston, One of the Public Faces In State Fight For Marriage Equality
  • John Waters believes mainstream Hollywood films are finally as shocking as his cult movies

    John Waters believes mainstream Hollywood films are finally as shocking as his cult movies

    Published by BANG Showbiz English John Waters thinks mainstream Hollywood films are just as shocking as his gross-out cult classics. The groundbreaking 77-year-old director made his name with the 1972 black comedy ‘Pink Flamingos’ that famously …Read More »
  • Sir Elton John is ‘back home and in good health’ after being rushed to hospital

    Sir Elton John is ‘back home and in good health’ after being rushed to hospital

    Published by BANG Showbiz English Sir Elton John is “back home and in good health” after being rushed to hospital. The 76-year-old pop icon suffered a fall at his French villa on Sunday (27.08.23) evening and …Read More »
  • Robin Roberts Wedding—All the ‘I Do’ Details: The Dress, the Guest List, the Snubs and More Revealed

    Robin Roberts Wedding—All the ‘I Do’ Details: The Dress, the Guest List, the Snubs and More Revealed

    Published by OK Magazine Here's to the newlyweds! On Friday, September 8, Good Morning America star Robin Roberts tied the knot with her girlfriend of 18 years, Amber Laign. The reporter broke the news on her …Read More »
  • Ellen DeGeneres announces TV return after 16-month absence

    Ellen DeGeneres announces TV return after 16-month absence

    Published by BANG Showbiz English Ellen DeGeneres has announced her return to TV. The 65-year-old star's eponymous ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show' came to an end in May 2022 after 19 seasons and she's now revealed her …Read More »
Previous Post: « College Running Back Indicted on Hate Crime Charges for Assaulting Gay Couple He Saw Kiss on the Street: VIDEO
Next Post: A Frothy Supercut of Rick Santorum’s Anti-LGBT Views: WATCH »

Primary Sidebar

Most Recent

  • Bella Thorne used to have threesomes with Benjamin Mascolo

    Bella Thorne used to have threesomes with Benjamin Mascolo

  • John Waters believes mainstream Hollywood films are finally as shocking as his cult movies

    John Waters believes mainstream Hollywood films are finally as shocking as his cult movies

  • Sir Elton John is ‘back home and in good health’ after being rushed to hospital

    Sir Elton John is ‘back home and in good health’ after being rushed to hospital

  • Robin Roberts Wedding—All the ‘I Do’ Details: The Dress, the Guest List, the Snubs and More Revealed

    Robin Roberts Wedding—All the ‘I Do’ Details: The Dress, the Guest List, the Snubs and More Revealed

  • Ellen DeGeneres announces TV return after 16-month absence

    Ellen DeGeneres announces TV return after 16-month absence

  • Madonna ‘Would Love’ for Britney Spears to Come on Tour With Her After Recent Split From Sam Asghari

    Madonna ‘Would Love’ for Britney Spears to Come on Tour With Her After Recent Split From Sam Asghari

  • Lourdes Leon, Daughter Of Madonna, Shocks With See-Through String Dress At Victoria’s Secret Show

    Lourdes Leon, Daughter Of Madonna, Shocks With See-Through String Dress At Victoria’s Secret Show

  • Mike Pence Confronted by Emotional Mom of Trans Child About Laws to Protect Lgbtq Kids From Violence

    Mike Pence Confronted by Emotional Mom of Trans Child About Laws to Protect Lgbtq Kids From Violence

Adjacent News

  • Did the UAE ban the Barbie movie? What about Saudi Arabia?

    Did the UAE ban the Barbie movie? What about Saudi Arabia?

  • From penal camp, dissident Navalny calls on Russians to resist Putin

    From penal camp, dissident Navalny calls on Russians to resist Putin

  • As contentious judicial ‘reform’ becomes law in Israel, Netanyahu cements his political legacy

    As contentious judicial ‘reform’ becomes law in Israel, Netanyahu cements his political legacy

Good Trash: Going to Read It Somewhere, Y'know

  • Beyonce pays tribute to stabbed fan

    Beyonce pays tribute to stabbed fan

  • Dwight Howard’s Assault Accuser Submits Uber Receipt as Evidence in Court Battle With Ex-Lakers Star

    Dwight Howard’s Assault Accuser Submits Uber Receipt as Evidence in Court Battle With Ex-Lakers Star

  • After Bud Light, Ukraine ‘Scandals,’ Garth Brooks Surprises Again

    After Bud Light, Ukraine ‘Scandals,’ Garth Brooks Surprises Again

Partner Links

  • OMG, he’s naked: Former British Olympian discus thrower Brett Morse
    6ft3 giant Brett Morse is a former British Olympian discus thrower […]
  • Tuesday Round-Up: Melissa Etheridge; Anthony Bowens; Jonathan Van Ness; Billy Porter & more!
    Melissa Etheridge Says She Was Named ‘Worst Female Vocalist’ By Rolling […]
  • OMG, why not wear it? The table skirt from Hussein Chalayan’s F/W 2000 After Words collection
    Pip pip, fashun friends—I’m writing to you from London where I’ve […]
  • OMG, Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal, and Jamie Bell star in queer thriller ‘All of Us Strangers’
    From director Andrew Haigh. One night in his near-empty tower block […]
  • The Richest 'Real Housewives of Salt Lake City' Stars, Ranked From Lowest to Highest Net Worth
    The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City is back! Season 4 […]

Most Commented

Social

Twitter @tlrd | Facebook | Instagram @tlrd

About

  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy
[towleroadmr] [towleroadtn]

Copyright © 2023 · Log in

×
×