Although the U.S. Supreme Court required states to recognize same-sex marriages in Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015, the case left many issues related to such marriages unresolved. Many of the laws already in place regarding marriage will apply to all marriages, but there are still a number of gray areas around same-sex marriage and divorce.
Custody and child visitation can be more complicated for same-sex couples. In cases in which each parent is either a biological or adoptive parent of the child, issues related to the child should be handled in accordance with Texas family law in the same way they would for opposite-sex parents. Generally, that means there is a presumption that both parents will be named joint-managing conservators and share the rights and duties of parents. The law requires the court’s primary focus to be on the best interests of the child in determining issues related to custody or visitation.
In many cases, however, the familial relationship between a same-sex couple and their children is not as clearly defined from a legal perspective. In some cases, only one parent may be the biological parent, or only one parent may have formally adopted the child. Prior to the recognition of same-sex marriages, the adoption of a child by a same-sex couple was a drawn-out process that did not allow the couple to adopt the child together. While some couples solidified the legal relationship of the second parent in these situations through adoption, other couples may have chosen not to do so for a variety of reasons.