By: Amy B. Egitton, Esq.
In 1991, the New York State Court of Appeals defined the term "parent" by excluding non-biological parties. This excluded parent like figures who lacked biological or adoptive ties to a child from seeking custodial rights.
When New York State Legislature passed the Marriage Equality Act, it created the persistent question as to what are the parental rights upon divorce to a child born of a same sex marriage where one party is the biological parent and the other is not.
On August 30, 2016, the Court of Appeals drastically altered the 1991 rule of law.
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