How does the law define what constitutes a parent and who is a parent? According to New Jersey’s Parentage Act, a “parent and child relationship” is “the legal relationship existing between a child and the child’s natural or adoptive parents, incident to which the law confers or imposes rights, privileges, duties, and obligations. It includes the mother and child relationship and the father and child relationship.” N.J.S.A. 9A:17-39. With advances in technology, many more people have been able to conceive and have a child. Over the years, that has meant that family law has had to adapt to new circumstances by which people might have children, and thus disputes about having children. Continue reading ›