Can a non-biological gain custody and/or visitation of a non-biological child? The answer, like most legal questions, is "it depends." In Maryland, it is extremely difficult, though not impossible, for a non-biological parent to gain custody. Such cases are referred to as third-party custody (ie, the claimant for custody is someone other than the child's two natural parents.) In order to prevail, the person seeking custody must prove that the child's natural parent is unfit, or that there are "exceptional circumstances." These terms have been strictly defined by the courts. However, there have been some cases where the third-party has won custody, such as the recent Christopher M. case in Maryland. In that case, Christopher M. was not the child's biological parent, but had been led to believe he was by the mother. The court found that exceptional circumstances existed in that the mother encouraged Christopher M.'s efforts in parenting, and had abruptly cut off all contact between him and her child, and only revealed that he was not the father to keep him from gaining custody. See, also, this case in Vermont in which biological mother's lesbian partner was awarded visitation, even though she was not a biological parent. What if the non-biological parent is the husband of the mother...see my previous posts on husbands and paternity.
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