It is no secret that the norm of the American family of a man, a woman and X number of children has changed drastically from what it was just a few decades ago. Adding to the shifting landscape is the increasing frequency of same-sex partnerships and child adoptions by those couples. Unfortunately for many in Virginia and other states, family law is lagging behind and create complications.

The legal baseline currently for Virginia is that single adoptions are permitted for lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender individuals. Joint adoptions by same-sex couples are not outright prohibited and do occur. The state of second-parent adoptions, which involves one partner adopting the biological or adoptive child of another partner without the first parent giving up legal parental rights, is unclear.

A similar situation exists in North Carolina, though a former state senator is challenging the status quo. Her name is Julia Boseman and for the second time in just a few years, she is suing an ex-partner to gain joint custody of the mate's biological child.

The boy was born to Boseman's then-partner, Chrystal Medlin, two years ago. In Boseman's suit, she claims that she and Medlin have been public about their shared parenting roles. She says that Medlin has voluntarily allowed Boseman to share in decision making about the child. Now that they are split up, Boseman wants joint custody rights.

There is something of an echo in the action. In 2005 Boseman filed to adopt a child she raised with her previous partner Melissa Jarrell. Jarrell is that child's biological mother. Despite a lower court's OK of the adoption, the North Carolina Supreme Court rejected it, citing the fact that state law doesn't allow same-sex adoption. At the same time, the state's high court granted Boseman joint custody.

While the case was settled, questions remain. Perhaps the latest filing will lead to the courts providing greater clarity.

Source: WWAY-TV, "Boseman files for joint custody of second ex-partner's son," Feb. 1, 2012