Kentucky Supreme Court Lets Lesbian Co-Parent Block Adoption Petition by Former Partner’s Husband

The Kentucky Supreme Court unanimously ruled on February 18 in A.H. v. W.R.L. & M., 2016 Ky. LEXIS 14, that the lesbian co-parent of a child had a right to intervene in an adoption proceeding that had been initiated by the new husband of her former same-sex partner. Facing a case of “first impression” for the Kentucky courts, Justice Bill Cunningham wrote that the Kentucky Court of Appeals had incorrectly reversed the trial court’s decision … <Read More>


New York Lesbian Co-Parent Custody Claim Precluded under 12-Year-Old Decision

The evil that courts do lives on…  On October 4, 2013, the New York Law Journal published Rockland County Family Court Referee Dean Richardson-Mendelson’s opinion in Matter of A.F. v. K.H., V-00918-13, rejecting all attempts by a lesbian co-parent to obtain judicial relief against her former partner’s action of excluding her from contact with the children they had been raising together.  The principal barrier to her case is the N.Y. Court of Appeal’s old decision, … <Read More>


Kansas Supreme Court Recognizes Right of Same-Sex Co-Parent to Enforce Parenting Agreement

The Kansas Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that a lesbian co-parent who entered into a written co-parenting agreement with her partner before her partner had a child through assisted reproductive technology (ART) can seek enforcement of the agreement in the Kansas courts, premised on a gender-neutral interpretation of the Kansas version of the Uniform Parentage Act.  Ruling in Frazier v. Goudschaal on February 22, the court also found that the trial court had authority to … <Read More>