Understanding “De Facto Parenthood” in Maryland Family Law
In 2016, the Maryland Court of Appeals–now the Supreme Court of Maryland–recognized a legal concept known as “de facto parenthood.” A de facto parent is someone who claims custody or visitation rights with a non-biological, non-adopted child. The case before the Court, Conover v. Conover, addressed a same-sex couple who conceived a child through artificial insemination. The couple later divorced, and the non-biological parent claimed de facto parenthood status. The Court of Appeals, reversing an earlier decision, held that such status was recognized under Maryland law.
How Do You Establish De Facto Parenthood?
The Maryland Court of Appeals’ 2016 decision adopted a four-part test previously established by the Supreme Court of Wisconsin for a third-party petitioner to establish de facto parenthood status:
- The child’s biological (or adoptive) parent consented to, and fostered, the petitioner’s formation and establishment of a parent-like relationship with the child;
- The petitioner and the child lived together in the same household;
- The petitioner assumed the obligations of parenthood by taking significant responsibility for the child’s care, education, and development, including contributing towards the child’s support, without any expectation of financial compensation in return; and
- The petitioner has been in a parental role long enough to establish a bonded, dependent relationship with the child that is parental in nature.
Do De Facto Parents Have to Pay Child Support?
More recently, the Appellate Court of Maryland (formerly the Court of Special Appeals) addressed the question of whether a de facto parent can be required to pay child support. This case, McMorrow v. King, did not involve a same-sex couple but rather a mother and a paternal grandfather. The mother and father conceived the child while both attended separate colleges. After the child’s birth in 2011, the paternal grandparents agreed to raise and care for him while his parents finished school.
But the child continued to live with the paternal grandparents for the next six years, during which time the father died. In 2017, the mother asked the grandparents to have the child move in with her and her then-boyfriend. This transition occurred in 2018. Initially, the mother agreed the grandparents would continue to enjoy visitation and access to the child, but she later canceled access “until further notice.”
The grandparents then filed a petition seeking custody or visitation rights with their grandchild. A Circuit Court judge held the grandparents qualified as de facto parents under the Maryland Supreme Court’s 2016 four-part test and awarded visitation rights. In 2020, the mother married her boyfriend and filed a petition to terminate the de facto parent rights of the grandfather, who objected to the husband’s adoption of the grandchild. (The grandmother had passed away.)
The Appellate Court rejected the mother’s petition, holding she was barred from re-litigating the Circuit Court’s previous finding of de facto parenthood, which she did not appeal at the time. But the Appellate Court did agree with the mother’s argument that the grandfather had an obligation, as a de facto parent, to pay her child support. On this point, the Appellate Court adopted the reasoning of the Supreme Judicial Court of Maine in a similar case, holding that “a de facto parent who asserts his or her rights to custody or visitation owes a corresponding duty to pay child support, subject to a best interest of the child analysis.”
Contact a Maryland Child Custody Lawyer Today
As our definition of the family continues to change and evolve, we will see more complex cases emerge regarding the rights and obligations of non-traditional parents. If you need legal advice from a qualified LaPlata child custody lawyer, contact Fanning Law, LLC today to schedule a consultation. We serve clients in LaPlata, Waldorf, and Lexington Park.
Sources:
scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=1491237808077090023
scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=6740988463710239204
