Biological parents regaining their rights: a psycholegal analysis of a new era in custody disputes.

The evolving American family presents new psycholegal dilemmas. Recently many publicized landmark cases have involved custody disputes in which settlements turn on the genetic component. Although the court acknowledges the principle of "the best interest of the child" as important to the determination of custody, this interest is not absolutely paramount. Court rulings have taken the position that the rights of biological parents are a threshold issue that must be resolved first. Thus, children may be removed from their adoptive and psychological parents through a court order. The authors present a psycholegal analysis of important cases with a guideline for the future.