The Complex Landscape of LGBTQ+ Child Custody
The complications of LGBTQ+ relationships can often feel never-ending. Beyond the initial difficulties you probably faced figuring out and sharing your identity, finding and committing to a partner likely brought its own set of challenges. Then, becoming a parent surely was another hurdle. Whether you chose adoption, artificial insemination, or another assisted reproductive technology approach, you likely faced a long and arduous process to finally have a child.
Now, if you and your partner have decided to call it quits, dealing with all the legal intricacies of child custody can feel overwhelming. There are many issues that affect the direction a custody battle can take for LGBTQ+ families. Is one parent the biological parent and one a non-biological parent? Are you and your partner married? Has the non-biological parent gone through a legal adoption? If not, did you and your partner create a custody agreement in advance?
The answers to these questions will play a huge role in steering the process for determining custody of the child or children. If you’re facing a custody battle, even for an amicable separation or divorce, you need to understand the Pennsylvania-specific laws related to child custody for LGBTQ+ couples, and you need to secure a legal team that will fight for the best interests of you and the children. The LLF Law Firm’s Family Law Team can help you navigate the child custody process and ensure the best outcome for all involved. Call us at 888-535-3686 or complete our confidential contact form to learn more.
Factors Affecting Legal Custody Rights
As with any family, biological parents generally have a legal right to child custody. Because same-sex couples can’t both be the biological parents, child custody will depend largely on whether the non-biological parent has gone through a formal adoption. If they have, then both parents have equal custody rights. If neither parent is biological, then custody rights will depend on whether one or both parents officially adopted the child.
If you’re not a biological or adoptive parent, you may still have legal rights to custody if you have acted as a parent according to the parameters of the law. In this case, a court will look at a variety of factors related to the couple’s relationship with each other and with the child.
In any of the above situations, any pre-existing co-parenting or custody agreements will have a big impact on a court’s custody decisions. If you’re welcoming a new child into your family, putting a custody agreement in place as soon as possible is always the best idea. But, of course, if you didn’t and you’re now facing a divorce or separation, it’s too late to go back and fix that. You’ll have to take a different approach to securing any degree of custody rights going forward.
As you’ve probably figured out by now, there’s no easy answer or quick fix to solving child custody issues for LGBTQ+ couples. Whether you have legal custody rights or not, you need a legal team on your side to get you through the custody case with the best chances of success for you and the children. The Family Law Team at the LLF Law Firm has years of experience handling these types of cases in Pennsylvania. We understand the intricate legal issues surrounding LGBTQ+ custody cases, and we can help you and your children come through it with the best possible outcome. Call us at 888-535-3686 or complete our online contact form to schedule a consultation.