Transsexual Gets Children After Wife Disobeys Judge's Order
Kantaras v. Kantaras
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| Michael Kantaras |
Michael Kantaras, who was born a woman, took custody of the children May 24 on orders from Senior Pasco-Pinellas Circuit Judge Gerard O'Brien.
A written order awaiting O'Brien's signature states that Linda Kantaras may have liberal visitation but is no longer the children's primary custodian.
Michael Kantaras will retain primary custody until O'Brien makes a final decision in the couple's divorce case, which was the subject of a three-week trial that ended in February.
O'Brien has said he must decide an issue never before tackled by a Florida court: Can a man born as a woman become a husband and father under Florida law?
The couple married in Seminole County in 1989, three years after Michael Kantaras underwent a sex change operation in Texas. He subsequently adopted his bride's newborn son and later was listed as the father on the birth certificate of a girl born through artificial insemination by his brother.
Linda Kantaras' attorneys have said she thought Michael was legally a man when they wed. They also raised the issues of Florida laws banning same-sex marriages and adoptions by homosexuals.
The custody dispute began in 1998, when Michael Kantaras left his wife for another woman.
Related Stories:
May 3, 2002 - Transsexual Dad's Custody Fight IntensifiesFeb 15, 2002 - Equality Florida Legal Advocacy Project Represents Transgender Father
