New Jersey parents who are newly divorced or are going through a divorce may be concerned about their children spending time with their former spouse’s significant other. In this day and age, exposing a child to a parent’s new boyfriend or girlfriend is not as taboo as it used to be, however parents who have concerns about this may want to discuss it with each other and with their legal counsel. In some cases, it might be possible to prevent the other parent from having the new boyfriend or girlfriend spend the night when children are there.

In fact, this type of arrangement is fairly common in some states and it is typically included in a morality clause. This recently led to a fairly high-profile case in Texas, where a judge has ruled a lesbian couple cannot live together because one of the women has a morality clause in her divorce papers.

The morality clause is set to expire when the woman re-marries, but this is not possible since the couple lives in a state where same-sex marriage is not legal.

The married couple, who are parents to two daughters, divorced in 2011. They divorced in a county where a morality clause is part of the standard divorce procedure. It applies to every divorce case, and states that significant others cannot be in the home with the divorced parent after 9 p.m. if the children are home. As noted above, the morality clauses expire upon remarriage.

The lesbian couple had been living together for almost three years, in violation of the clause, until recently when a child custody dispute was re-opened and the ex-husband decided to enforce the morality clause. A judge agreed with the ex-husband and ordered the ex-wife’s partner to move out last month.

In his ruling, the judge stated that the morality clause was meant to benefit the children, and that it was not written to target homosexuals.

Others, however, have argued that morality clauses in the state are rarely enforced but they have burdened gay and lesbian parents.

It is unclear whether the lesbian couple will file an appeal, but this may become a very important case to watch.

Some parents here in New Jersey may have legitimate reasons to keep their children away from an ex’s new partner, such as drug use or a criminal history, among other concerns. Those who are concerned with this issue should discuss their options with their family law attorneys.

Source: Slate.com, “Texas Judge Blocks Woman From Living With Lesbian Partner at Ex-Husband’s Request,” Josh Vorhees, May 22, 2013