## Facts

- Michelle L. Conover and Brittany D. Conover were in a long-term same-sex relationship and jointly decided to have and raise a child.
- Their son, Jaxon, was conceived through artificial insemination with an anonymous donor and born in April 2010; Brittany was listed as the sole parent on the birth certificate.
- The parties married in September 2010 and separated in September 2011.
- After separation, Michelle had overnight and weekend contact with Jaxon until July 2012, when Brittany ended Michelle’s access.
- Brittany filed for divorce in February 2013 asserting there were no children of the marriage; Michelle responded and counterclaimed seeking visitation (not custody).
- The dispute turned on whether Michelle—who was neither a biological nor adoptive parent—had standing to seek custody or visitation.

## Issues

1. Whether Maryland recognizes de facto parenthood as a basis for standing to seek custody or visitation.
2. If de facto parenthood is recognized, what criteria determine de facto parent status and whether a de facto parent must first show parental unfitness or exceptional circumstances.

## Decision

- The Court of Appeals reversed the intermediate appellate court and overruled prior precedent to the extent it rejected de facto parent standing.
- The court held that de facto parents have standing to seek custody or visitation and need not prove parental unfitness or exceptional circumstances before a court applies a best-interests analysis.
- The court adopted a four-factor test to determine de facto parent status.
- The case was remanded to the circuit court to determine whether Michelle qualifies as a de facto parent and, if so, to decide custody/visitation under the child’s best interests.

## Legal Principles

- A person may qualify as a de facto parent by proving: (1) the legal parent consented to and fostered the petitioner’s parent-like relationship with the child; (2) the petitioner and child lived together; (3) the petitioner assumed significant parental obligations for care, education, development, and support without expectation of compensation; and (4) the relationship existed long enough to create a bonded, dependent, parental-type relationship.
- Once de facto parent status is established, the de facto parent is treated as a parent for custody/visitation purposes, and the court proceeds directly to the best-interests-of-the-child analysis.
- De facto parenthood is limited by the requirement of the legal parent’s consent and fostering, which protects legal parents’ constitutional interests while allowing courts to address established parent-child bonds.

## Conclusion

Maryland recognized de facto parenthood and held that adults who satisfy a defined, consent-based test may seek custody or visitation on equal footing with legal parents, with disputes resolved by a best-interests analysis rather than a threshold showing of parental unfitness or exceptional circumstances.


Conover v. Conover, 450 Md. 51, 146 A.3d 433 (Md. 2016)