California appeals court upholds parentage determination for Colonel in US Air Force Reserves

On Friday, in S.Y. v. S.B., the California Third Appellate District upheld a trial court order that found S.Y. to be a parent of two children adopted by her partner, S.B.  This case is signifcant because S.B. argued that her partner had not "received the children into her home" as required by statute because she maintained a separate residence for almost the entire 13+ years of their relationship

When lesbian mothers split up -- latest results from the National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study

The December 2011 peer-reviewed journal Family Relations reports the latest findings from the National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study (NLLFS) on the well-being of children whose mothers split up before they were 17.  The NLLFS has been following 85 children of lesbians born through donor insemination beginnning in the 1980's.  Information about the study and its earlier published research is

New report on LBGT families with children a must-read

Today the Movement Advancement Project, Center for American Progress, and Family Equality Council released the report, “All Children Matter: How Legal and Social Inequalities Hurt LGBT Families.” This is not just one more report on children of LGBT parents. It is, instead, the gold standard against which every other assessment of the needs of children of LGBT parents will be measured for well

Texas Supreme Court lets stand lower court order registering the parentage judgment of a gay male couple

On September 30, the Texas Supreme Court denied review in a case brought by the nonbiological father of a child born using his ex-partner's sperm to a California surrogate mother. The couple, Jerry Berwick and Richard Wagner, lived in Texas, and had a child in December 2005 pursuant to a gestational surrogacy contract in California. Berwick is the biological father. Pursuant to agreements filed

Arkansas law on same-sex couples raising children is...complicated

Same-sex couples have a constitutional right to carry on a sexual relationship in their home. So do different-sex couples. That's what the Arkansas Supreme Court said in Cole v. Arkansas, the case striking down the ban on adoption and foster parenting by anyone living with a nonmarital partner. The court's ruling was based on the Arkansas constitution. (For more about the case, read here).So

End of DADT improves life for the children of same-sex couples

In all the glee over the end of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, there's a constituency that has received littled notice: children with a gay servicemember nonbiological parent. Those parents have been unable to adopt their children, or sometimes even to live with them, for fear that knowledge about their family circumstances would trigger a discharge. That fear is now lifted. The children will now have

Protecting Families: Standards for LGBT Families available online

At a plenary session of this year's Lavender Law conference, attorneys Bill Singer (New Jersey) and Joyce Kauffman (Cambridge, MA) unveiled an aspirational document designed to safeguard the parental relationships formed in same-sex couple families. Protecting Families: Standards for LGBT Families aims to keep families out of court by honoring the child's relationship with parental figures even

LGBT family law practitioners honor clients who are "pioneering parents"

At a luncheon today that was part of the Family Law Institute associated with the National LGBT Bar Association, twelve clients were honored for pursuing their right to raise their children through the appellate courts of states around the country. No one sets out to be a test case. But each of these clients was threatened with losing his or her child, and each kept going at great emotonal and

Nebraska Supreme Court rules nonbio mom entitled to hearing on custody and visitation

The facts are sad but common. Lesbian couple, Teri Latham and Susan Rae Schwerdtfeger, were together for 20 years and had a child born to Susan using donor semen about 15 years into their relationship, in 2001. They cared for the child as co-parents. In 2006 they split up. The child stayed with Susan but Teri claimed that she continued to see her son three to five times a week and to support

Ohio Supreme Court rules against nonbio mom

Over the scathing dissent of a single judge, the Ohio Supreme Court this week ruled that a bio mom, Kelly Mullen, revoked her co-parenting agreement with her ex-partner Michele Hobbs,and that therefore Hobbs could not obtain a hearing on whether she should have joint custody of her now six year old daughter, Lucy. I wrote about the oral argument in the case here.Ohio does allow a nonbio parent

Ohio Supreme Court reinstates nonbio mom visitation

The Ohio Supreme Court today stayed the order of an appeals court that halted visitation between nonbio mom, Julie Rowell, and the child she raised with her former partner, Julie Smith. I wrote about the appeals court ruling here last month. Today's order, signed by Ohio Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor, explicitly reinstates the visitation ordered by the trial judge who heard the case.The issue

Ohio appeals court overturns contempt finding and allows bio mom to withhold visitation from nonbio mom

An Ohio trial judge granted Julie Rowell temporary visitation with the daughter she raised for five years with her former partner, Julie Smith. The child was conceived through donor insemination while the couple was together. When Smith refused to allow the court-ordered temporary visitation, the trial judge held her in contempt of court. Last week, an Ohio appeals court in Rowell v. Smith

Nonbio mom, Sondra Shineovich, successful on remand from Oregon Court of Appeals

In 2009, I wrote extensively about the Oregon Court of Appeals ruling in Shineovich v. Kemp. The court held that the consent of a biological mother's same-sex partner to her insemination, with the intent to parent the resulting child, made the nonbio mom a legal parent. The court reviewed the state's statute making a husband the parent of a child born to his wife using donor insemination to

Delaware Supreme Court upholds de facto parent statute and upholds joint custody award

Two years ago, in an opinion I criticized extensively, the Delaware Supreme Court ruled that a woman whose partner was a child's only legal parent (through adoption) lacked standing to obtain custody or visitation when the couple split up. In response to that decision, the Delaware legislature amended its definition of "parent" to include de facto parents, a move I praised as extensively as I had

Who are the parents of Viva Katherine Wainwright Cohen?

Viva Katherine Wainwright Cohen (d.o.b. 2/2/11) is the heir to folk music royalty. As the granddaughter of Loudon Wainwright III, Kate McGarrigle, and Leonard Cohen, she starts off life with songs -- and poetry -- in her blood. (By the way, I'm old enough to think of Rufus as the son of Loudon, rather than Loudon as the father of Rufus. As a folk music DJ in the early 1970's, I came of age

Then again the Arkansas nonbio mom ruling falls short...

I was pretty excited when I wrote last week about Bethany v. Jones, the Arkansas case that recognized the right of a nonbio mom to continued visitation rights with the child she raised. The court relied on the doctrine of in loco parentis, which means that Emily Jones functioned as a parent to the child she raised with her ex-partner.Then I thought about it a bit more and realized I became too

Arkansas Supreme Court approves visitation rights for non-bio mom

In a 5-2 decision, the Arkansas Supreme Court yesterday affirmed a trial court ruling granting visitation rights to a nonbiological mother The case, Bethany v. Jones, has a familiar fact pattern. Alicia Bethany and Emily Jones had been together for five years when Bethany gave birth to a child that she and Jones planned for together. They gave the child Jones as a last name and also gave her a

Ohio Supreme Court hears argument in claim by nonbio mom

Last year about this time I wrote about three cases in which a bio mom was teaming up with the sperm donor to force a nonbio mom out of a child's life. One of those cases, In re L.K.M., was argued yesterday before the Ohio Supreme Court. Lambda Legal represents Michelle Hobbs, and Lambda Senior Staff Attorney Christopher Clark did a terrific job on her behalf. You don't have to take my word

19-year-old son of lesbian couple gives moving testimony in Iowa hearings

Iowa is holding hearings on same-sex marriage. We know to expect to hear lots of comments about how bad it is for children to be raised by gay or lesbian parents. Well, listen here to the testimony of Zach Wahls, the 19-year-old son of a Iowa lesbian couple. It's a show-stopper.

Wisconsin court leaves stand a parentage order for a nonbio mom but precludes such orders in the future

The most horrific part of last month's North Carolina Boseman v. Jarrell opinion against second-parent adoption was that it said the court that granted the adoption lacked "subject matter jurisdiction," which means that the order was void, along with all second-parent adoption orders, the moment it was granted. That wiped out every second-parent adoption in the state.Well, within days of that