As with any other matter surrounding a divorce or dissolution, child custody disputes can either easily be resolved or require a lot of time to reach a solution. As we saw in a previous post, custody disputes can also be extremely emotional, especially when both parents are fighting for sole custody.

There are a few instances where a child custody dispute can be complicated. Just recently, a child custody case reached the Ohio Supreme Court because a case like this had never been decided before. Two women who were domestic partners are now in a custody battle over one of the woman's biological daughter.

The article does not clearly state how long the two women were in a committed relationship, but at one point the two decided to raise a child. Three years ago, the biological mother left the other woman and took her daughter with her. The biological mother refused to allow the other woman to see the girl.

The other woman asked a court to grant her shared custody of the girl which was initially granted by a judge. But then the Juvenile Court reversed the appeal, which was also upheld by an appeals court after the other woman appealed the reversal.

The biological mother wants sole custody while the other woman wants joint custody. There has not been any previous precedent in Ohio, so the Ohio Supreme Court would be setting the standard if future cases were to be heard.

When determining custody, courts will look at what is in the best interests of the child. The outcome of this specific case could take several months as the Ohio Supreme Court decides whether the denied motion of joint custody should be upheld or reversed.

Source: Cincinatti.com, "Ohio Supreme Court hears unique custody case," Jon Craig, 02 February 2011