I came across a truly intriguing article today about a unique situation. In an unprecedented ruling for New York state, Suffolk County Supreme Court Judge H. Patrick Leis III granted a former Long Island couple and their former neighbor, with whom they had a polyamorous relationship, “tri-custody” of their 10-year-old son.
The details are a bit confusing, but let’s see if we can get through it. A husband and wife befriend a downstairs neighbor, who becomes a girlfriend to the couple. The wife is infertile, so the girlfriend agrees to have a baby with husband. During the pregnancy, the wife’s medical insurance paid for the girlfriend’s appointments and birth of child. Dad, Wife, girlfriend (mom), and baby all live happily together for about 18 months. Now, things fall apart: wife, girlfriend and baby all move out and leave dad (husband, boyfriend) behind.
Husband seeks custody of child (since he is being denied by wife and the girlfriend). Wife files for divorce. The dad is awarded shared custody with former girlfriend/neighbor, but his wife (ex-wife) now feels left out. In all of this, wife has no assured parental rights over the child!
Enter Judge Leis, who cited a ruling from last summer, Brooke S.B.—which allows nonbiological or adoptive parents to seek custody of a child, given a prior relationship—in awarding the ex-wife shared custody. In a big win for alternate family households, parentage is not the only deciding factor in custody proceedings.
Other recent cases have reflected similar “tri-custody” outcomes. New Jersey saw a similar case in 2015, with the parents including a gay male couple and a straight woman. If you should have any questions about non traditional families and lgbt gay lesbian divorce family law in Santa Clara County please contact my office.
If there are any legal questions you may have, I encourage you to, please contact my San Jose Divorce Lawyer office. My San Jose Family Lawyer offices assists many people who are going through family law related issues. We have many Affordable San Jose Divorce Lawyer solutions for many different budgets. San Jose unbundled limited scope family lawyer.
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