legal parent
Recognized family authority
A legal parent is someone recognized by law as a child's parent, whether through biology, marriage, adoption, or court order.
Legal parenthood carries rights and responsibilities—custody, support obligations, inheritance—that biological connection alone doesn't automatically confer.
A birth mother is typically a legal parent; a sperm donor typically is not.
The adoption made them the child's legal parents.
- guardianProtective caretaker of another
- custodyProtective care or control
- custody battleLegal contest for parenting rights
- sole custodyOne parent's complete authority
- adoptionLegal family formation
adoption papers · biological · blood relative · mother · father · stepparent · birth · birth certificate · rights · responsibility · child support · court · family court · documents · certificate · foster · lineage · heir
- familymother, father, siblings, son, brother
- parentagepaternity, maternity, fatherhood, motherhood, father
- surrogacysurrogate, surrogate mother, gestational surrogacy, gestational carrier, surrogate birth
legal parentbiological parent
One who conceived offspring
birth parent · natural parent · birth mother · birth father · biological mother
legal parentward
Protected person; division
dependent · minor child · adopted child · foster child · absent parent
legal, parent, legally, legality, illegal, illegally, legalize, legalization, legislature