Unlike grandparents, step-parents are not specifically named in the CLRA. However, they do have status in parenting applications.
The Best Interests of the Child
As previously discussed, when making decisions about custody and access, judges consider the best interests of the child. The CLRA sets out a number of factors in section 24 of the Act.
Judges will consider:
The love, affection, and emotional ties between the child and each person entitled or claiming access to the child. Does the stepparent have a good relationship with the child? What evidence is available?
The plans proposed for the child’s upbringing. Will the birth parents exclude the stepparent from the child’s life? Is that in the best interest of the child?
The ability of each person to act as a parent. Are the parents and/or stepparent acting in bad faith and were failing to put the child’s interests before their own? Parents must put the interests of their child ahead of an awkward or inconvenient relationship.
The relationship by blood or adoption between the child and each person who is a party. This is the only clause in the best interests analysis set out in the CLRA that considers biological vs. non-biological parents. It is only one factor in a long list of factors.
What if the parents don’t want the stepparent to see the child?
In grandparent access cases, some courts have favoured the “parental autonomy” approach, which state that considerable weight should be given to the wishes of the custodial parents when determining access.
The CLRA states a person who has demonstrated an intention to treat a child as a child of their own family has additional rights and obligations towards the child. They are included in an expanded definition of “parent” for the purposes of child support, and they are to be named as parties in any case involving parenting. Since the stepmother had acted as a parent, she had a different status than a family or community member applying for access.