Summary
This Appellate Division decision reverses a Family Court order denying a maternal grandfather's petition for custody of his granddaughter following the mother's death. The court found that the grandfather successfully demonstrated extraordinary circumstances under Domestic Relations Law § 72(2)(a), as the father voluntarily relinquished care and control of the child for an extended period while residing apart. Consequently, the matter is remanded to the Family Court for a hearing to determine custody based on the child's best interests.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the Family Court erred in finding that the maternal grandfather failed to establish extraordinary circumstances under Domestic Relations Law § 72(2)(a) to warrant custody of the child.
Holdings
- The Family Court erred; the maternal grandfather satisfied the burden of showing extraordinary circumstances, and the order denying custody is reversed and remanded for a hearing on the best interests of the child.
Key quotations
“"The statute defines 'extended disruption of custody' as including, but not limited to, 'a prolonged separation of the respondent parent and the child for at least twenty‑four continuous months during which the parent voluntarily relinquished care and control of the child and the child resided in the household of the petitioner grandparent or grandparents'"” (198 AD3d 785-786)
“"Inasmuch as the Family Court is in the best position to evaluate the credibility, temperament, and sincerity of the parties, its determination should be set aside only if it lacks a sound and substantial basis in the record"” (193 AD3d 1058)
Factual background
The mother and father had one child born in 2009. After the father's incarceration (2015‑2018) and subsequent release, the child lived primarily with the maternal grandfather while the father lived apart. The mother died in a car accident in June 2023. The father sought to relocate the child to North Carolina, prompting the grandfather to seek custody, alleging extraordinary circumstances under Domestic Relations Law § 72(2)(a).
Procedural history
The maternal grandfather and the child appealed the Family Court, Suffolk County's order dated June 24, 2024, which denied the grandfather's petition for custody and dismissed the proceeding for lack of extraordinary circumstances.
Remand instructions
The matter is remitted to the Family Court, Suffolk County, for a hearing to determine a custody award based upon the best interests of the child.