A.C. v. N.J., 1 N.E.3d 685

Mother and Partner (a same-sex domestic partner) agreed to have a child via artificial insemination; Mother gave birth in 2008 and the parties raised the child together for ~2+ years.
Partner participated in birth, cut the umbilical cord, was listed as co-parent/emergency contact at preschool, and the child called Partner "Mommy." No adoption was completed.
The relationship ended in August 2010; Mother retained custody and initially allowed liberal visitation (several overnights per week) for ~9 months, then ceased all contact in July–October 2011 citing concerns about Partner.
Partner filed a petition (Jan 2012) seeking joint custody and visitation; at trial she sought joint custody and visitation (Oct 2012). Trial court denied custody and visitation and concluded Partner lacked standing for visitation.
On appeal, court (Ind. Ct. App.) affirmed denial of joint custody, held the trial court correctly declined to enforce a co‑parenting agreement as creating parental status, but reversed the standing ruling and remanded to reconsider visitation under third‑party visitation standards.

Issue	Partner's Argument	Mother's Argument	Held
Whether the parties' oral agreement made Partner a legal parent	Agreement and intent to be co‑parents should be enforced to recognize Partner as a parent	Co‑parenting agreements cannot circumvent adoption statutes; such agreements are unenforceable in Indiana	Trial court did not err in declining to enforce the agreement; appellate court declined to extend parental status absent Supreme Court or legislative guidance
Whether Partner was entitled to joint custody as a nonparent	Partner sought joint custody; argued she functioned as a parent and had custodial history	Mother argued presumption favors natural parent; third‑party custody requires clear and convincing evidence of substantial advantage to child	Denied: court applied correct B.H. standard and found Partner failed to rebut presumption in favor of Mother
Whether Partner had standing to seek visitation as a nonparent	Former same‑sex partner who acted as a parental figure has standing to seek third‑party visitation	Trial court held standing limited to parent, grandparent, or stepparent; Partner lacked standing as neither	Reversed: court held a former same‑sex partner in Partner’s factual position has standing to seek visitation; remanded to apply third‑party visitation best‑interest analysis

In re A.B., 818 N.E.2d 126 (Ind. Ct. App. 2004) (held co‑parenting agreement could create legal parental status for nonbiological partner)
King v. S.B., 837 N.E.2d 965 (Ind. 2005) (transferred and vacated In re A.B.; allowed some nonparent claims to proceed but did not endorse broad co‑parentage rule)
In re Guardianship of B.H., 770 N.E.2d 283 (Ind. 2002) (sets clear‑and‑convincing standard before placing child with nonparent)
Troxel v. Granville, 530 U.S. 57 (2000) (recognizes parental due‑process presumption that fit parents act in child’s best interests)
Collins v. Gilbreath, 403 N.E.2d 921 (Ind. Ct. App. 1980) (third‑party visitation allowed where petitioner acted in custodial/parental role)
Worrell v. Elkhart Cnty. Office of Family & Children, 704 N.E.2d 1027 (Ind. 1998) (limited third‑party standing; held foster parents lacked standing for visitation)
Schaffer v. Schaffer, 884 N.E.2d 423 (Ind. Ct. App. 2008) (directs consideration of deference to fit parent's decision in stepparent visitation claims)
Levin v. Levin, 645 N.E.2d 601 (Ind. 1994) (equitable estoppel can bind a consented‑to sperm donor husband to child support)
Tirey v. Tirey, 806 N.E.2d 360 (Ind. Ct. App. 2004) (party bound by support agreement despite lack of biological parentage)