Typically, a parent with legal custody has final say over decisions such as medical treatment, school enrollment and religious upbringing of their child.
However, one trip up the overcrowded and glacially slow elevator at New York Family Court proves why many who work there refer to it as “the saddest place on Earth.” Multiple things must change.
Custody
Parents separating or divorcing often worry about how custody will be divided. Custody decisions are determined in family court, with no favoritism shown toward either parent. Judges must base their decisions solely on what will benefit the child – this includes taking into account both parents’ abilities to care for the child as well as other important considerations such as home, job and lifestyle factors – not gender biases.
Judges may consider children’s preferences if it is in their best interests, for instance if an older child expresses a strong preference to live with one parent over the other. In such a situation, judges will likely give that factor consideration when making their ruling.
As it is essential for each parent to demonstrate their ability to care for the child, it is equally essential for each one to demonstrate they can provide enough financial security for a stable and secure job and adequate income when seeking custody. Furthermore, being able to offer after school activities or extracurricular opportunities that a judge cannot is something the judge will take into consideration when making physical custody determinations.
If a parent cannot demonstrate they can provide for their child’s needs, they may not be granted custody. A judge could be concerned about substance abuse issues which could hamper physical custody being awarded; also domestic violence might prevent this being granted as custody may also not be awarded to that individual.
How long a custody case takes will depend on both the court’s existing calendar and how urgent the matter is. Sometimes courts can postpone cases up to 30 days. If your matter is urgent, make sure you contact the clerk’s office quickly to try to have it put back onto their calendar sooner.
Studies show that it is always best to reach a custody agreement between both parties if possible, as studies demonstrate that children fare less when their parents cooperate to reach a mutually agreeable arrangement rather than have a judge make this decision on their behalf.
Visitation
Parents may file petitions seeking visitation rights with their children, with noncustodial parents typically being granted such rights based on what’s best for their children’s best interests and the best interests of both parties involved. A family court judge typically looks at similar factors when making visitation decisions as they would with custody cases, with court orders generally determined on how often each parent sees their children depending on age and other considerations – this might involve overnight stays, dinner dates with them as well as weekend visits and alternate school holiday visits being established by court orders.
If the court has any concerns about a noncustodial parent’s ability to provide safe or adequate care during visits, supervised visitation could be granted by the judge. These visits often take place at neutral locations with visits monitored by professionals such as social workers or psychologists; should there be valid safety issues present, judges could restrict these visits entirely or limit their duration accordingly.
In extreme circumstances, noncustodial parents may be denied visitation rights entirely by the court. When making its determination, it will consider multiple factors, including past acts of domestic violence or mental illness which would traumatize their child. Furthermore, criminal records or imprisonment could disqualify a parent from visitation rights altogether.
Once a judge issues a custody or visitation order, either party can request a hearing to change it voluntarily or if circumstances have dramatically altered since initial order was given – for instance a change in employment status making the original custody or visitation schedule impossible to adhere to.
An experienced New York Family Court attorney can be invaluable when it comes to preparing for hearings to modify or enforce custody and visitation orders. While such proceedings can be daunting for some people, having someone on their side who knows all the ins-and-outs of family courts can make the entire process less intimidating while providing guidance from someone familiar with each case’s facts and circumstances.
Support
Family Court can be an important source of financial support for children from families of limited means, making missed child support payments particularly damaging to both them and the working class parents who form most of its litigant base. Missed payments may even cause credit issues and lead to loans or mortgage denial.
As COVID-19 struck, many Family Court litigants attempted to access their local courthouse as usual prior to pandemic and were met with signs reading “Court Closed,” without providing additional details. For those lucky enough to enter, many found difficulty transitioning from pre-pandemic filing systems into remote operations – inadequate staffing levels for remote operations made caseload management more challenging than expected.
At times, confusion ensued due to the Court’s attempt at creating a differentiation between emergencies and nonemergency cases, further compounded by their attempt at differentiating between non-emergency applications submitted during pandemic years remaining unscheduled until March 2021, and even then weren’t at the top of the queue for scheduling.
Family Court’s failure to establish an effective method for communicating with litigants contributed to further confusion and frustration during and after the pandemic. Without clear information available to them about accessing its services – particularly those living on low incomes who may lack attorneys who could send email requests directly to the Court on their behalf – access was severely hindered.
The Family Court website provides do-it-yourself forms that provide some guidance for litigants, but their use is limited as they cannot be utilized by grandparents or siblings seeking visitation or custody modifications, nor filing support modification petitions. Furthermore, only forms for divorce/separation cases exist and not those related to dissolving an adoption/paternity agreements/dissolution of adoption etc. Furthermore, no instructions exist for hiring private judges so their cases may be resolved without scheduling complications in public courts.
Orders of Protection
Family court allows you to seek restraining orders against anyone abusing, stalking, or threatening you in any form – be it your partner, parent, child, or any other individual – including abusive relationships or persons such as stalkers and stalkers. Consult an attorney immediately if this situation becomes troubling to you; an order of protection can also be filed if ACS/CPS contacts you and asks the judge to act by opening up a protective services case on their behalf.
In most cases, a Judge will gather testimony from witnesses (parents and people familiar with both children), GALs or child welfare investigators (if appointed), as well as parties themselves before rendering a ruling based on all available evidence presented to them. At times the judge may also provide both parties an opportunity to talk directly before them about how they feel about the situation before reaching his or her decision.
If either party disagrees with a Judge’s ruling, either can opt to file an objection with a higher court and request that another Judge review their case and make their own determination. This way they have another opportunity for making their voice heard in this process.
Most Family Court hearings are heard by judges; some hearings may also be overseen by support magistrates. There are no jurors present during family court proceedings; instead, an impartial Judge or support magistrate evaluates each case and decides on its resolution.
While a Judge or support magistrate hears your case, members of the public are not permitted in courtroom. This is to protect both your privacy and that of other parties involved in your case. A Judge or support magistrate can exclude them at their own discretion depending on the nature and privacy interests of all involved.
At the conclusion of your case, a judge will render their ruling and create an order which will be filed with Supreme Court. He or she will then sign it and send you a copy for your records – while simultaneously notifying all involved parties about this legally protective document.