{"id":1681,"date":"2009-12-05T14:22:31","date_gmt":"2009-12-05T14:22:31","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2009-12-05T14:22:31","modified_gmt":"2009-12-05T14:22:31","slug":"texas-lesbian-mom-can-sue-her-ex-for-joint-custody","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/proudparenting.com\/2009\/12\/texas-lesbian-mom-can-sue-her-ex-for-joint-custody\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas Lesbian Mom Can Sue Her Ex for Joint Custody"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kristie Vowels and Tracy Scourfield had been a couple for more than four years and had gone through counseling to help them decide whether to have a child together. Scourfield gave birth to their daughter, conceived through IVF, on May 21, 2004.<\/p>\n

A little more than a year later, the two women broke up and Scourfield and the little girl moved out of Vowels\u2019 home – although Vowels\u2019 continued to help support the child financially. The women agreed to and operated on a visitation schedule very similar to what is considered \u201cstandard visitation\u201d in a heterosexual custody case.<\/p>\n

But in April 2007, Scourfield abruptly cut off Vowels\u2019 contact with the child. A month later Vowels filed suit – seeking conservatorship with a legally binding visitation schedule.<\/p>\n

The Dallas Voice<\/strong> reports<\/a>: “…in a surprise move, [the court] reversed itself and ruled that Kristie Vowels does have standing to sue for joint custody of her child with a former partner. Michelle May O\u2019Neill, Vowels\u2019 attorney, said Wednesday, Dec. 2 that the ruling handed down the previous day had come as a complete surprise, since the three-judge panel had already ruled against Vowels in a September decision.”<\/p>\n

5\/11\/2008<\/strong>
\nCustody Fight Between Lesbian Moms in Dallas<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Dallas Voice<\/strong><\/a> uncovers a domestic tug-of-war that is surfacing in Texas news. As a matter of fact, this custody case may set a precedent in the Lone Star State.<\/p>\n

Tracy Scourfield has cut all ties between her biological daughter and her former partner, Kristie Vowels. Vowels has filed a lawsuit seeking joint custody and the right to adopt the 4-year-old.<\/p>\n

The Voice’s Tammye Nash describes the situation: “According to information provided by Vowels and her attorneys, Vowels and Scourfield moved in together in December 1998. After several years of discussion and several sessions with a therapist, the two women decided to have a child through artificial insemination, with Scourfield as the biological mother and sperm from an anonymous donor.<\/p>\n

“The child was born May 21, 2004. She was given Vowels\u2019 first name as her middle name, and her last name was a hyphenated combination of her mothers\u2019 last names.”<\/p>\n

Vowels and Scourfield separated 15 months after the child was born, and they agreed to a visitation schedule similar to a ‘standard’ visitation schedule between divorced parents in Texas. The child lived with Scourfield, but regularly stayed overnight at Vowels’ home. Holidays were also considered shared time.<\/p>\n

But, of course Vowels and Scourfield were not married and they are not divorced. Legally Vowels is \u201ca stranger\u201d to her own child.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kristie Vowels and Tracy Scourfield had been a couple for more than four years and had gone through counseling to<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[333,484,213,571],"yoast_head":"\nTexas Lesbian Mom Can Sue Her Ex for Joint Custody - Proud Parenting<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/proudparenting.com\/2009\/12\/texas-lesbian-mom-can-sue-her-ex-for-joint-custody\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Texas Lesbian Mom Can Sue Her Ex for Joint Custody - 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