Dear Drake: whether you decide that Natural Insemination (NI) or Artificial Insemination (AI) is the right method for you and your co-parent will depend on many issues. You can find a comparison of the different methods of conception for co-parenting partners in FamilyByDesign’s Conception Options Chart.  Best of luck!

Dear Lilly: I admire you for giving serious consideration to all possibilities before embarking on a co-parenting partnership. If your parenting partner will have legal status as a parent, he will have equal rights for custody and visitation. Generally, a right to custody includes decisions as to where the child lives, health issues, educational and…

Dear Sarah: If you are depressed, you’re not alone – this is a common occurrence with failed attempts at fertility. Things to look out for include feelings of isolation / loneliness, a change in your eating or sleeping patterns, losing interest in your regular activities and constantly thinking about issues relating to your fertility all…

Dear To Be or Not To Be: The answer to your question is determining whether the sperm donor wants to be a parent or not. If the donor has the intention of playing a role as parent, you need a co-parenting agreement.  If the donor wants to be released from all rights and responsibilities, you…

The answer depends on how long your child has lived in New York.  There is a federal statute, the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act of 1997 which gives “exclusive and continuing” jurisdiction to a child custody matter and, for the purposes of this question, a support obligation issue, to the “home state” of…

Dear Quizzical: The only thing I can predict about co-parenting is that change will occur.  Changes in how each parent feels, changes in what the child needs and changes that no one could predict in advance. My advice is to work hardest on sections regarding how you will jointly mediate and modify the agreement as…

If you have surrendered your parental rights, or if they have been terminated, you are not entitled to claim the child under 26 U.S.C. Section 152 as a dependent.  One requirement for a parent to claim their child as a dependent is that they have resided with the child for at least one half of…

Age is certainly one factor that can be used to predict the likelihood of achieving pregnancy both now and in the future. But there are others as well, including your pregnancy history (if you have one) , your current cycle ( how regular your ovulation is) and specific medical screening tests that can be used…

In modern family life, there are many examples where more than two adults can function as a child’s parent. While this has historically happened after divorce and remarriage with a step-parent, the rise of parenting partnerships has also created situations where a child may receive love, care and attention from multiple parenting figures. Despite the…

Whether (and when) you become pregnant is more likely going to be determined by the relative fertility of the man and woman attempting to conceive  than whether the sperm is “introduced” through intercourse or a home insemination.