New York’s Highest Court Expands Definition of Parenthood

New York Times (Oct. 18, 2016): A Complex Case Tests New York State’s Expanded Definition of Parenthood, by Sharon Otterman:

New York has had an expanded definition of parenthood since August.  The new test is whether a couple intended to have and raise a child together.  It was meant "to provide equality for same-sex parents and the opportunity for their children to have the love and support of two committed parents.”  Now the new test is being applied in a difficult case involving a lesbian couple's break-up and the boy whom one of the women legally adopted.

Circe Hamilton applied to adopt a boy from Ethiopia in 2009.  Her partner Kelly Gunn intended to adopt the boy as a second parent.  Before the adoption was finalized in 2011, however, the couple broke up but remained friends.  Hamilton, overwhelmed by the challenges of motherhood, called upon Gunn to help her with childcare, shelter and even employment.  Now that Hamilton wants Gunn out of her and her son's lives, Gunn is arguing that the adoption would never have happened without the couple's mutual efforts.  Hamilton, however, is arguing that she intended to parent alone. 

The judge in the case must decide whether the involvement of Gunn in the boy's life amounts to parentage or just the benevolence of a trusted friend.  Several questions are guiding the proceedings, now before the Supreme Court in New York County:  "How formalized was the relationship between Ms. Gunn and [the boy]? What did he think Ms. Gunn’s role was? Did Ms. Gunn assume the duties of a parent? What would be the impact on[the boy] if their relationship ended?"   

The case is particularly fraught because now Hamilton wants to move to London with the boy.  For now, the court has ordered the boy's passport confiscated so that Hamilton does not abscond with him.