Interestingly enough, a recent Maryland court ruling suggests that, yes, there can be three (or more) parents in a Maryland divorce custody fight. See E.N. v. T.R., 255 A. 3d 1 (Md: Court of Appeals 2021). The reason for this is that, in 2016, Maryland’s highest court adopted what is called the de facto parent doctrine. Under this legal doctrine, persons other than the biological parents can be deemed to be “parents” if the facts of the case demonstrate the legal requirements.

The de facto parent doctrine was established in the case of Conover v. Conover, 450 Md. 51, 146 A.3d 433 (2016). This legal doctrine is legally complex, so if your Maryland divorce has facts that might support the status of one or more persons as de facto parents, you will need the legal assistance of the best divorce lawyers and family law attorneys in Charles County MD. Under Conover, a person claiming status as a de facto parent has the burden of proving their status. To prove this, they must show that there exists, with the child, a relationship that is like unto a parent. Specifically, the following must be shown (quoting from Maryland court cases):

“(1) that the biological or adoptive parent consented to, and fostered, the petitioner’s formation and establishment of a parent-like relationship with the child;
(2) that the petitioner and the child lived together in the same household;
(3) that the petitioner assumed obligations of parenthood by taking significant responsibility for the child’s care, education and development, including contributing towards the child’s support, without expectation of financial compensation; and
(4) that the petitioner has been in a parental role for a length of time sufficient to have established with the child a bonded, dependent relationship parental in nature”

Because of the de facto parent doctrine, it is possible to have more than two parents asking the court for custody of minor children. In the E.N. case, the third party claiming to be a de facto parent was the biological father’s new romantic partner identified in the case as T.R. The biological mother was identified as E.N. and custody of the two children was disputed. For several years, the two children lived with E.N. and their biological father. The father was incarcerated on criminal charges and, during that time, the children and E.N. lived with E.N.’s mother. When the father was released from incarceration, he began a relationship with T.R. and the children began living full-time with their father and T.R. T.R. and the father owned the home jointly where the children lived and were engaged to be married. This lasted for about two years. However, the father was again convicted and was again incarcerated in late 2017. After this second incarceration, the children continued to live with T.R. In February 2018, T.R. filed in the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County, Maryland, for sole legal and physical custody of the children. E.N. filed papers disputing T.R.’s claim and seeking, for herself, sole legal and physical custody of the children.

The court acknowledged that, because of the de facto parent doctrine, there could, in fact, be more than two parents seeking custody of children. However, proving one’s status as a de facto parent is difficult. Indeed, T.R. failed in her attempt because she could not prove the first element listed above. That is, T.R. could not prove that the biological parent — E.N. — consented to the formation and establishment of a parent-like relationship with the child. Indeed, the facts showed conclusively that E.N. did not consent to the children’s relationship with T.R. and did not even know T.R.

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This article has been provided by the Law Office of Robert Castro. For more information or questions contact our office to speak to an experienced Maryland family law and divorce lawyer at (301)870-1200. We are family law attorneys in Waldorf , MD.