Same-sex parents win

Being a parent in New York now means a whole lot more.

The state’s highest court ruled Tuesday that caretakers can seek custody of children they haven’t adopted or to whom they aren’t biologically related. The decision is a boon to same-sex couples who may share children and later split.

“[We] hold that where a partner shows by clear and convincing evidence that the parties agreed to conceive a child and to raise the child together, the non-biological, non-adoptive partner has standing to seek visitation and custody,” the Court of Appeals ruling reads.

Meg Canby, a lawyer representing one of the women involved in the case, explained that it will now be up to trial courts to assess families on a case-by-case basis and determine what’s in the best interest of the children.