For most couples with children, a breakup in their relationship does not equate to losing their children. However, when it comes to same sex couples, particularly those who never married, there are legal barriers that prevent them from asserting their rights as parents to their children.
In a recent case out of the Fourth Court
Suzan and Kimberly McLaughlin, a married lesbian couple, conceived a child using artificial insemination with an anonymous donor in 2011. When the parties later separated in 2013, Kimberly began restricting Suzan’s access to the child. Suzan filed a lawsuit seeking to be recognized as a parent that same year. In April 2016, the trial court
Texas Family Code section 160.106 says that the provisions of Chapter 160 relating to the determination of paternity apply to a determination of maternity in Texas. So, when a heterosexual couple is married, the father is presumed to be the father of the child. The law provides other instances when a man is presumed to
