How do same-sex relationships affect custody in a divorce between heterosexual people?
This question addresses the situation where a person has been part of a heterosexual marriage and/or relationship from which children were born and then becomes involved in a same-sex relationship. Courts have been appropriately treating these types of situations recently. In such a matter, a Court should be looking at who can best provide for the best interest of the children. In some situations, there may be a shared custody arrangement between the formerly heterosexual partner and the divorcing husband or wife. Certainly, same-sex relationships are much more accepted today. However, I caution people that there may be a bias by a Judge which is not apparent on the surface. On the whole, there are statutory guidelines to determine the best interests of a child and the must be followed. Pennsylvania’s Appellate Courts, those courts to which Orders of custody are appealed, have been consistently equal in their treatment of same-sex and/or heterosexual couples.
