Also known as: fosters · fostered · fostering · fosterage · fosterlean · fosterling · foster care · foster child
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A relationship involving parental care given by someone not related by blood or legal adoption. The arrangement creates legal recognition of caretaking duties without establishing biological or adoptive parentage.
Francesca Fowler operated a religious foster agency that declined to certify same-sex couples based on its faith tenets. City officials sought to enforce a policy against such refusals but retained discretion to grant individualized exemptions in other cases. The agency's challenge succeeded because the policy's exemption mechanism rendered it non-general under free exercise standards.
Farid Farahani owned a historic building used as a foster home. The city designated it a landmark and blocked alterations that would expand capacity for additional children. The owner claimed the restrictions amounted to a taking without just compensation given the economic impact on the property's foster-related use.
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Fatou Fall and her spouse sought to serve as foster parents but faced a state ban on their marital choices. They challenged the restriction as invading a protected zone of personal liberty. The court recognized that decisions about forming a foster family unit fell within fundamental privacy interests.
Felix Franco and his partner, both licensed foster parents in one state, relocated to a jurisdiction that refused to recognize their marriage. The couple argued that the refusal burdened their ability to continue fostering jointly. The court held that states must extend marriage recognition to protect stable foster placements.
Francisco Frost placed property interests of a foster child in a trust located in another state. Creditors sought to assert jurisdiction over those assets through the child's presence in the forum. The court required minimum contacts analysis rather than relying solely on the child's status as a foster resident.
Felipe Figueroa faced criminal charges arising from statements made by a foster child to investigators. The child did not appear at trial. The court excluded the statements because they were testimonial and the defendant had no prior opportunity for cross-examination.
No. A foster parent provides care without blood or adoptive ties and does not acquire full parental rights solely through the foster relationship. Courts require additional showings, such as de facto parent status under uniform acts, before granting custody or visitation rights.
Generally no. A foster child is not treated as a child of the foster parent for purposes of class gifts or intestate succession unless the governing instrument or statute expressly includes foster children.
A claimant must prove by clear and convincing evidence that they resided with the child, provided consistent caretaking, assumed full parental responsibilities without compensation, held the child out as their own, formed a bonded parental relationship, and that another parent fostered that bond, with continuation serving the child's best interests.
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