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Tri-Parenting: Three's Company or Three's a Crowd?

By Bari Weinberger
October 02, 2017

Laws pertaining to legal parentage have changed frequently in recent years as states have attempted to keep pace with the evolving configurations of modern-day families. Major contributors to this process — including rapid advancements in assisted reproductive technology and improved rights for same-sex parents — have expanded our definitions of family and parenthood. Still, what about the related issue of how many recognized parents a child can have?

In many ways, the concept of “tri-parenting,” meaning a family situation in which a child might have more than two parents, is not entirely new. For example, there have always been occasional conflicts between biological fathers and husbands of biological mothers, as the latter are considered “presumptive fathers” in most states. Foster parents, step-parents, and others who step in to act as parents, have also often fought to gain or preserve a legal role in a child's life.

Accepting that more than two people at one time should be recognized as a child's legal parent, however, has been slower to gain traction. Why is this, and what can we as matrimonial and family law attorneys do to help our clients with tri-parenting concerns find workable solutions for their families?

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