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Welcome to Family Law Matters. I’m Dr. Michael Mantell, and I’m pleased to be joining Bonnie Rabinovitch Mantel, the owner and managing partner of the Primus Family Law Group, where experience meets results. Hi, Bonnie.

Hi, Michael. How are you doing today? Doing great. It’s very warm today.

I’m not sure when this is airing, but today when we’re taping, it is very, very warm. Now, maybe not as warm as in a child custody issue with a non-biological parent. Bonnie, I have a simple question for you.

Can a non-biological parent ever be awarded child custody or timesharing? Absolutely. As the world has evolved, Michael, we’re not just a man-woman-child situation. Thank God.

Everybody has evolved to a place where same-sex marriages are legal and flourishing, and people want to have children. When you’ve got a situation where you’ve got two moms or two dads, well, with two moms, if one of them is the biological child, the other parent is not just by the way things work. That second mom who has been raising this child and loving this child and holding this child out as their own to the world, and the child knows this person as mom, is entitled to legal rights.

The law takes sometimes a lag for it to catch up to the way the world has changed, but we now have laws that allow you to have non-bio parents be considered presumed parents and given the plenary rights of parenthood, rights and obligations. I imagine that that can be a very confrontational issue for the biological parent, and they may argue strongly, but you’re saying the law is very clear. Michael, if these two people are married, let’s say, or they’re in a relationship, one would think it shouldn’t be confrontational.

They’re both the parents of this child. It does not matter. The same situation if you’ve got two dads, it should not matter.

The law has just caught up to our expanding of what we now know as family, and it shouldn’t matter. But yes, does confrontation arise? Of course. We’re just here to help.

Well, you do more than help. You provide very sophisticated client services in matrimonial and family law matters. This issue, I imagine, is probably a bit more complicated at times than a simple yes or no.

So if people have questions, they want to be in touch and ask you a little bit more about this, how can they reach you? Well, you can reach anyone of us at Team Primus at 619-574-8000. We do offer a free 30-minute phone consultation. You can also reach out to us online at www.primusfamilylaw.com, and through there, we can also schedule a free 30-minute consultation.

Sounds terrific, Bonnie. Thank you so much for your clarity, your straightforward answer. We’ll talk more on the next edition of Family Law Matters.