Mother’s involvement in a same-sex relationship did not constitute sexual misconduct, and thus should not have been considered when determining the best interests of the children and awarding child custody in divorce proceeding. Thus, the trial court violated mother’s due process and equal protection rights when it used mother’s sexual orientation as a determinative factor when awarding sole custody of children to father, in divorce proceeding. Text messages exchanged between husband and wife’s partner were admissible, during divorce proceeding; the actual text messages were not admitted, and the messages were admitted not to prove the truth of the matter but to demonstrate the hostility between the parties.
Laura Morgan is a Family Law Consultant. Laura is available for consultation, brief writing and research on family law issues throughout the country. She can be reached through her website. www.famlawconsult.com
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