In re W.L.

Summary

The court held that a same-sex partner of a woman who conceived through artificial insemination may establish legal parentage under the Kansas Parentage Act's maternity presumption based on notorious recognition of maternity, even without a written or oral coparenting agreement. The court clarified the applicable burden-shifting framework, requiring proof of the presumption, rebuttal by clear and convincing evidence, and an ultimate showing by a preponderance of the evidence, together with proof that the birth mother consented at the child's birth to sharing her parental decision-making rights. Because the lower courts applied incorrect standards and relied on the absence of an agreement and postbirth parenting performance, the court reversed and remanded.