Marilyn Johnson and Nancy SooHoo raised two children together while living in Minnesota. When the couple broke up, Johnson unilaterally cut off contact between SooHoo and the children. The Minnesota Supreme Court held in 2007 that SooHoo was a person “in loco parentis” who had a parent-child relationship with the children, and found that it was in the children’s best interest to have visitation with SooHoo, whom they called “mommy.” In 2008, Johnson moved the...
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child custody
L.W. and K.R. raised their child, A.W., together from the time that K.R. gave birth to him. After the couple split up, L.W. became the child’s sole caregiver. L.W. obtained a parentage judgment from a California court establishing that she is A.W.’s legal parent. L.W. is disabled and receives Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits. The Social Security Act provides benefits for the children of people who receive SSDI, and L.W. applied for A.W. to receive benefits as...
B.F. and T.D., a lesbian couple, were in a committed relationship for seven years. When their attempts to get pregnant were unsuccessful, the couple decided to adopt. Because the availability of second parent adoptions is unclear in Kentucky, only T.D. adopted the child. For the next six years, the couple raised their child together. After the couple separated, however, T.D. cut off all contact between B.F. and the child, forcing B.F. to file for visitation. Both the trial court and the...
Angela G. and D.W., a lesbian couple, had a child together in 1998. After the couple separated, D.W. arbitrarily cut off all contact between Angela and the child, forcing Angela to file for custody. The trial court held that Angela was not a parent and had no right to any contact with the child. In June 2005, the California Court of Appeal reversed the trial court’s decision and held that Angela is a parent and has the right to seek custody. NCLR represented Angela in her appeal.
Elisa and Emily had twins together while they were in a committed relationship. One of the twins has Down Syndrome and requires round-the-clock medical care. After Elisa and Emily separated, Elisa, the non-biological mother, stopped visiting the twins or providing any financial support. In August 2005, the California Supreme Court held that Elisa is a legal parent and must pay child support. The Court ruled that when a same-sex couple has a child through assisted reproduction, both partners...
Kristine H. and Lisa R. had a child together using alternative insemination. Before the child was born, they petitioned a court to issue an order declaring both women to be the child’s legal parents. When the couple separated a few years later, however, Kristine challenged Lisa’s parental status and tried to prevent her from having any right to custody or visitation. In August 2005, the California Supreme Court ruled that Kristine was barred from challenging the court’s order...
