미국의 “사실상 부모(De Facto Parent)”법리에 관한 고찰 = Implications of the De Facto Parent Doctrine in the U.S. Family Law

국문 초록 (Abstract)

미국법상 사실상 부모 개념은 전통적인 가족관념 또는 가족형태가 붕괴하고 다변화된 가족관계의 현상을 맞이하면서 발전되어 왔다. 여기에 가족법제도를 선도한 자녀복리의 가치 역시 사실상 부모 법리의 발전을 견인하였다고 볼 수 있다. 즉, 전통적 가족관념에 기댄 부모 지위의 독점성 및 절대성이 힘을 잃게 되고, 부모의 권리는 자녀복리의 측면에서 재설정되어야 하는데, 사실상부모 법리는 그 과정에서 산출된 결과물이라고 할 수 있다. 사실상 부모는 해당 아동의 법적 부모가 아니지만 법적 부모와 같은 보살핌을 제공함으로써 그 아동과 유의미한 관계를 맺은 자를 말한다. 미국 내 많은 주들은 부모 아닌 자에게 특정 아동에 대한 양육권이나 면접교섭권을 부여하는 데에 그 기초로서 사실상 부모 개념을 활용하고 있다. 물론 여기에는 부모의 권리와 자녀의 복리가 첨예하게 충돌하는 지점이 존재하지만, 부모의 권리가 정당한 이유 없이 침해되지 않도록 사실상부모의 성립요건을 엄격히 심사함으로써 양자 간 균형을 맞추고 있다. 요컨대 사실상부모 개념은 부모의 지위결정에 있어서 누가 부모의 권리・의무를 행사할 수 있는 자인지를 선행적 또는 동시적으로 고려할 수 있도록 하고, 그에 따라 부모의 지위를 좀 더 유연화・실질화 시킴으로써 자녀복리의 가치에 보다 가까이 접근할 수 있게 한다.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The definition of family has expanded drastically. To address these changing family dynamics, many states have adopted de facto parent laws, which recognize a nonbiological or adoptive parent’s right to petition for custody or visitation in strict circumstances. These laws differ drastically from state to state, leaving no common understanding of the requirements to be a de facto parent. A de facto parent is an individual other than a legal parent or a parent by estoppel who, for a significant period of time not less than two years, (i) lived with the child and, (ii) for reasons primarily other than financial compensation, and with the agreement of a legal parent to form a parent-child relationship, or as a result of a complete failure or inability of any legal parent to perform caretaking functions, (A) regularly performed a majority of the caretaking functions for the child, or (B) regularly performed a share of caretaking functions at least as great as that of the parent with whom the child primarily lived. Although granting a parental right to a de facto parent or non-parent gives rise of a trade-off between protecting a parent’s right and child’s best interests, states have tried to keep the balance between them through the strict scrunity of requirements to be a de facto parent.

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