When parents no longer live together and mom or dad gets remarried, what should the child call the new adult in their lives? Should the child be permitted to call their stepfather “dad” or their stepmother “mom”? Does it matter if the child has half-siblings or step-siblings who call the new adult by a derivative of “mom” or “dad”?

Parents have a fundamental constitutional right to raise their children as they deem fit. See, e.g., Interest of S.K.L.R., 256 A.3d 1108, 1126 (Pa. 2021); see also Troxel v. Granville, 530 U.S. 57, 66 (2000). When parents in Pennsylvania engage in custody disputes, they give up a part of this right by asking the courts to determine the best interest of the child by considering the sixteen enumerated factors set forth in 23 Pa.C.S. Section 5328(a). These disputes often implicate First Amendment rights to freely exercise religion and freedom of speech, but it is not always clear whether the First Amendment trumps the best interest of the child or the line where one becomes more important than the other.

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