Recent Cases Affecting New York Divorce Law

Custody and Same Sex Marriages and Relationships

In 2015 in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges, 135 S.Ct. 2071 (2015) SCOTUS the Court held that same sex couples have a fundamental right to marry. Then, per the N.Y. Dom. Rel. L. 10-a: Marriage Equality Act, in the case of  Brooke S.B. v Elizabeth A.C.C., 28 NY3d 1 [2016]  the highest Court in New York held that where a party shows clear and convincing evidence that both parties wanted to and  agreed to have a child then the non-biological party has standing to sue for visitation and custody, thus reversing the prior holding in Alison D.

Lisa Beth Older

NY Divorce Lawyer