New Hampshire Custody and Visitation Law
There are no published cases dealing with lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender parents or same-sex co-parents. State law, however, does not seem to permit the consideration of factors that do not affect the best interests of the child to be used in custody and visitation determinations.
New Hampshire law states: “In the making of any order relative to such custody there shall be a presumption, affecting the burden of proof that joint legal custody is in the best interest of minor children.”
In a 1973 case, Del Pozzo v. Del Pozzo, the state Supreme Court stated that the paramount and controlling consideration in deciding child custody was the overall welfare of the children. It also stated that there was no one formula for all cases, each case being determined by particular facts.
Citations: N.H. REV. STAT. ANN. § 458:17; Del Pozzo v. Del Pozzo, 309 A.2d 151 (N.H. 1973).
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Last Updated: 10/13/2004