Are You My father?
1.5 Hours MCLE/Specialization Credit in Family Law*
Speaker: Terry Symens-Bucher, Supervising
Attorney, DCSS
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
11:30 am-Noon: Sign-in and BYO Brown Bag Lunch
Noon-1:30 pm Presentation
1.5 Hours MCLE/Specialization Credit in Family Law*
The Alameda County Law Library
Currently, one of the most dynamic and interesting areas of family law is the question of legal
parentage. Just over twenty-five years ago, in an opinion written by Justice Scalia, the United States
Supreme Court held in Michael H. v. Gerald D. that a child did not have a right under due process or
equal protection to maintain a parental relationship with both her biological father and the husband of
her mother. The Court further held that the biological father’s constitutional rights were not violated
by California’s marital presumption which established the husband as the child’s legal father. In 2013
the California Legislature passed SB 274 which allows the court to find a child has more than two parentchild relationships if recognizing only two parents would be detrimental to the child.
This workshop will spend ninety minutes tracing the route from Gerald D. to the new law. We will make
rest stops at Dependency Court, the Child Support Program under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act,
assisted reproductive technologies and the expansion of legally cognizable parental behavior. While the
social media discussion around the meaning of family has been dominated by the issue of same sex
marriage, parentage law has been deeply affected by broader and more pervasive social and
demographic trends. These social trends include the astonishing increase in births to unwed parents
and fragile families, the prevalence of divorce and cohabitation, blended families, serial relationships,
increasing use of assisted reproductive technology, and changes in school-work-marriage-baby
sequencing. In the midst of these trends, the law has changed in an attempt to address and
acknowledge those adult-child relationships that will be legally recognized.
At the same time, the law has parsed and fragmented the idea of parentage, especially fatherhood, into
its constituent parts. The issue may be whether we can put those parts back together or can we allow
those various relationships to co-exist side-by-side. In any event, the question remains: who is a
parent? This workshop will provide some legal background for understanding that question.
$30.00 Advance Registration
$40.00 Day of Event Registration
Alameda County Law Library
Library Conference Room 8
125 Twelfth Street (12th @ Oak), Oakland
Call 510-272-6483 to pay with Visa/Master Card or use Eventbrite at
* Application pending approval by the State Bar of California.
Are You My father?
1.5 Hours MCLE/Specialization Credit in Family Law*
Program Location:
Alameda County Law Library
Conference Room 8
125 Twelfth Street
Oakland, CA 94607
$30Advance Registration; $40 Day of Event
You must pay in advance to reserve a space.
No refunds, but you may substitute another
person.
**1.5 Hours Participatory MCLE Credit **
Payment Options:
Pay by credit card over the phone by calling 510-272-6483.
Register online anytime at Eventbrite
Pay in person at the Reference Desk.
Mail a check (make check payable to “Alameda County Law Library”)
Alameda County Law Library, 125 Twelfth Street, Oakland, CA 94607.
For registration and additional information, please call (510) 272-6483.
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First Name
Last Name
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Mailing Address City, State, Zip Code
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State Bar Number State Where Licensed
The Alameda County Law Library is a multiple activity MCLE provider approved by the State Bar of California.
Nearby Oakland Restaurants Providing Takeout:
Eden Plaza Café
1109 Oak Street (at Eleventh Street)
510-286-9900
Lunch Stop Café MetroCenter
101 Eighth Street (at Oak Street)
510-817-5922
McDonald’s
1330 Jackson Street
510-238-2200
Oakland Museum of California, Blue Oak Café
1000 Oak Street
510-839-3876
Wednesday–Sunday, 11 am–4 pm