Overruling a 2008 precedent and reversing lower court decisions in this case, the Court of Appeals of Maryland, that state’s highest court, ruled on July 7 that the same-sex spouse of a birth mother, who gave birth to their child shortly before they were married, has standing as a “de facto parent” to pursue custody and visitation in the context of their present divorce proceeding, even though she never adopted the child. Conover v. … <Read More>
Conover v. Conover
Maryland Intermediate Appellate Court Finds State Precedent Precludes Applying “Best Interest of the Child” Standard to Visitation Dispute of Divorcing Lesbian Couple
Due to the oddities of timing during a transitional period in the legal landscape, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals found in the context of a divorcing lesbian couple that the non-biological parent’s claim for visitation with the child conceived through donor insemination at a time when the women could not marry in their domicile of the District of Columbia must be dismissed on standing grounds. It seems that by a fluke of timing the … <Read More>