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TRANSGENDER CUSTODY CASE IS BAFFLING
Monday, November 02, 2009
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By Scott Shifrel
In an unusually tangled custody battle, a Brooklyn mom is fighting her ex - a woman who lives as a man - for custody of her 7-year-old son.
The Brooklyn judge who annulled their 1998 marriage because it was a legal fiction - they put the partner down as "male" on the license - has ruled that the boy's "father" may seek permanent custody, despite having no biological or legal ties to the child.
"When the judge gave him standing to sue for custody, I thought, 'What's happening? She voided the marriage, she knows he is a woman.' It's ludicrous," the boy's mother told the Daily News.
The convoluted case - which includes accusations of abuse - is complex even for New York State.
"The lack of a [same-sex marriage] law leads to confusion for many couples," said Cathy Marino-Thomas of Marriage Equity New York. "There's no doubt this case, no matter which side ultimately wins, will be appealed."
Melanie and Sam [not their real names] decided to become parents and Melanie was artificially inseminated.
When they broke up in 2007, Sam received temporary custody in part because Melanie moved out and Sam filed for custody first. Sam has not had a sex-change operation, but takes hormones and appeared masculine as he took the stand in the bench trial before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Esther Morgenstern last month.
Melanie says she is straight and didn't even know Sam was a woman until the relationship got serious.
Citing the "strong emotional and psychological bond" between Sam and Sam Jr., Morgenstern noted that Sam "is the only father that the child has known."
Morgenstern said Melanie is as much to blame for lying on the marriage license and Sam Jr.'s birth certificate.
Melanie, who has custody every other weekend, accused her former partner of abuse. Sam, in turn, accuses Melanie of neglecting and physically abusing her son.
Sam, who takes the stand again this week, would not comment.
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| source: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2009/11/02/2009-11-02_this_transgender_custody_battles_odd_even_for_ny.html#ixzz0VjE5EoOp |
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