Judge Announces Precedent Ruling in Gay Custody Battle
As experienced Michigan child neglect and abuse lawyers, it is common to witness cases of children taken from their parent’s custody without just cause. When a couple with children separates, often a lengthy legal battle for rights to the kids begins. This situation becomes increasingly more complicated if the couple is homosexual, as the courts debate whether the non-biological parent should retain custody rights. However, in a landmark decision with potentially precedent-setting legal consequences, a Michigan woman passed the first step in receiving joint custody to three children she raised with their biological mother.
For 19 years, Grosse Isle residents Renee Harmon, 48, and Tammy Davis, 39, were in a relationship, during which Davis had three children through artificial insemination. Even though she is not the biological mother, Harmon is petitioning the court for custody rights as she helped raise the children and acted as a parental figure for several years. The couple broke up in 2008, and for over a year, Harmon retained custody rights. However, the Michigan child custody case began when Davis’ new partner prevented Harmon from seeing her children.
To see her children, Harmon pushed her way into her former home. This prompted Davis to file for a personal protection order from the court ultimately preventing her ex-partner from having any contact with her or the children. Davis maintains that Harmon was not their real parent, and that the children had never regarded her as such. Additionally, Harmon’s abusive tendencies not make her an unfit parent, but having no legal right to them.
Until recently, the court would have agreed with Davis. Previously, the only people who can petition the court for custody of a child are the biological parents, or the husband of a biological mother to a child that was born during their marriage. However, in the recent decision, Wayne County Circuit Judge Kathleen McCarthy ruled that Harmon’s request can proceed to a hearing in late July that determines whether a joint-custody agreement was ever determined between them. According to the Detroit Free Press, if the decision stands “it would be the first time gays, lesbians, and unmarried heterosexuals in Michigan would have legal standing to obtain joint custody.” Although the defense intends on taking the case to the Court of Appeals, if an agreement is proved, Harmon will almost certainly retain joint custody.
Potentially losing one’s children in a difficult custody battle is a heartbreaking and difficult process for any parent to experience. However, the recent ruling from the Wayne County Circuit Court highlights that good parenting is not based on sexual orientation, potentially opening the gates for more parents in similar situations to retain rights to their kids. If separation or divorce placed you in the middle of a legal custody fight, contacting hard-working and trustworthy Michigan child abuse & neglect lawyers cannot only provide the best legal advice and legal representation, but also keep loving parents in contact with their children.
About the Author
Since 1998, the child neglect abuse attorneys at Kronzek & Cronkright have provided the best legal advice and legal representation for people accused of child abuse & neglect in Michigan.
Comments
