Marriage and Adoption

The Institute for Marriage and Public Policy just came out with a survey of marital preferences in adoption law in the 50 states. In all states, the most important consideration is the "best interests of the child." Utah is the only state that explicitly gives preference to married couples. Alabama, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, and New York ban discrimination on the basis of marital status in adoptions.

In Tennessee, as in most other states, the importance of marital status is in the eye of the trier-of-fact.