N.C. Appeals Ruling Limits Extent of Partner’s Parenting Rights
Earlier in May, we reported on the North Carolina Court of Appeals decision in Mason v. Dwinnell, holding that the same-sex partner of a birth mother could seek joint custody and visitation rights with a child born during the relationship of the women, if the birth mother had acted in such a way as to waive her constitutional rights to exclude third parties from contact with her child. In that case, issued May 6, the court found that the birth mother had indicated from the outset her intention that her partner be an equal parent to the child (including executing a written agreement manifesting such intent), and had encouraged the development of a parent-child bond.
For some reason, our daily westlaw search that turned up the Mason case did not turn up a companion case issued the same date by the same court, also involving a same-sex couple in a child custody/visitation dispute, where the decision went the other way . . .
The companion case is Estroff v. Chatterjee, 2008 WL1944858 (May 6) . . .
Apparently, in Estroff there was no parenting agreement between the lesbian partners so the partner who is not a biological parent was denied as to parental rights.