A.H. v. M.P.

This case raises two questions of first im*829pression. First, whether an adult who is neither the biological nor the adoptive parent of a minor child may assert custody and support rights as a “de facto parent,” see E.N.O v. L.M.M., 429 Mass. 824, cert. denied, 528 U.S. 1005 (1999); Youmans v. Ramos, 429 Mass. 774 (1999); and, second, whether and to what extent we should recognize estoppel principles as creating parental rights where the party claiming such rights is neither the biological nor adoptive parent of the child and does not meet the criteria of a de facto parent. See ALI Principles of…