## Facts

- Dawn M. was married to Michael M., the biological father of J.M.
- Audria G., J.M.’s biological mother, lived with Dawn and Michael; the three adults formed a joint household and intimate relationship.
- After unsuccessful attempts for Dawn to conceive using Michael’s sperm, the three adults jointly decided to have a child together, pursuing insemination efforts and later conceiving J.M. through intercourse between Michael and Audria.
- After J.M.’s birth, all three adults raised the child in the same home; Dawn performed caregiving, decision-making, and financial support functions as a parent.
- J.M. referred to both Dawn and Audria as “mommy” and experienced the arrangement as having three parents.
- Following the deterioration of Dawn and Michael’s marriage and the filing of a divorce action, Michael opposed Dawn’s continued involvement with J.M.
- Dawn continued living with Audria and J.M. and sought legal recognition of her parental role, requesting shared custody and scheduled parenting time in a three-parent arrangement.

## Issues

1. Whether a nonbiological, nonadoptive adult who jointly planned a child’s conception and long acted as a parent has standing to seek custody and visitation as a “parent.”
2. If standing exists, whether the child’s best interests support an order granting shared custody and defined parenting time that effectively recognizes a three-parent custodial arrangement.

## Decision

- The court held that Dawn had standing as a “parent” because the evidence showed, by clear and convincing proof, a preconception agreement among the adults to conceive and raise J.M. together and a longstanding parent-child relationship.
- The court granted Dawn shared custody of J.M. and awarded specified parenting time, including weekly midweek dinner time, a week-long school recess period, and two weeks during the summer.
- The decision addressed custody and parenting time only; other matters, including child support, had been resolved by stipulation.

## Legal Principles

- A nonbiological, nonadoptive person may have standing to seek custody or visitation upon clear and convincing evidence that the parties agreed before conception to conceive and raise the child together as co-parents.
- Standing focuses on the parties’ preconception intent and the subsequent assumption of parental responsibilities, not solely biology or adoption.
- Once standing is established, custody and parenting time determinations turn on the child’s best interests, including continuity of caregiving, emotional bonds, and the effect of disrupting an established parent-child relationship.
- In applying the best-interests standard, a court may fashion an order that preserves a child’s stable relationships with more than two parental figures when supported by the facts.

## Conclusion

The court recognized Dawn as a parent based on a preconception co-parenting agreement and years of shared parenting, then applied the best-interests standard to award shared custody and structured parenting time to maintain the child’s established relationship with all parental figures.


Dawn M. v. Michael M., 55 Misc. 3d 865, 47 N.Y.S.3d 898 (Sup. Ct. Suffolk Cnty. 2017)