Summary
The New York Appellate Division, Third Department, affirmed Family Court orders awarding the maternal aunt sole legal and primary physical custody of the youngest child and denying the mother's motion to terminate placement. The court held that the aunt established extraordinary circumstances based on the mother's abuse and neglect, prolonged separation, and failure to comply with reunification requirements, and upheld supervised parenting time.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the maternal aunt established extraordinary circumstances sufficient to overcome the mother's superior parental claim to custody.
- Whether awarding the aunt sole legal and primary physical custody of the youngest child was in that child's best interests.
- Whether supervised rather than unsupervised parenting time was warranted based on the mother's history of abuse, dishonesty, and noncompliance.
- Whether the mother's appeal concerning the middle child was moot after the child turned 18 during the appeal.
- Whether the mother's motion to terminate placement under Family Court Act § 1062 should have been granted.
Holdings
- A nonparent may overcome a parent's superior custody claim by establishing extraordinary circumstances, and the cumulative effect of the mother's abuse and neglect, prolonged separation from the child, failure to accept responsibility, and persistent noncompliance with DSS directives established extraordinary circumstances here.
- Awarding the maternal aunt sole legal and primary physical custody of the youngest child was in the child's best interests.
- Supervised parenting time was appropriate because unsupervised parenting time could endanger the child's safety in light of the mother's abuse history, dishonesty, and noncompliance with DSS requirements.
- The mother's appeal was moot as to the middle child because the child turned 18 during the pendency of the appeal.
Key quotations
“A parent has a claim of custody to his or her child that is superior to all other persons, unless a nonparent establishes that there has been surrender, abandonment, persistent neglect, unfitness, an extended disruption of custody or other like extraordinary circumstances” (*2)
“Factors to be considered in a best interests analysis include maintaining stability in the child's life, the quality of the respective home environments, the length of time the present custody arrangement has been in place and each party's past performance, relative fitness and ability to provide for and guide the child's intellectual and emotional development” (*4)
“Such parenting time is appropriate when unsupervised parenting time would be detrimental to the child's safety because the parent is either unable or unwilling to discharge his or her parental responsibility properly” (*5)
Factual background
The Schenectady County Department of Social Services removed the mother's children in 2017 after the oldest child suffered severe welts and lacerations from being beaten with an extension cord. The mother was later convicted of assault in the third degree and endangering the welfare of a child, and the children were placed with their maternal aunt. The mother repeatedly failed to comply with DSS reunification directives, including required evaluations, home visits, parenting and anger-management programming, and continued to deny responsibility for the abuse. The youngest child lived with the aunt from 2017, developed a strong bond with her, and received a stable home, schooling, and medical care there.
Procedural history
After the children were removed from the mother's care in 2017 following abuse allegations and the mother was convicted of assault and endangering the welfare of a child, the children were placed with their maternal aunt. Family Court later entered a dispositional placement order, sustained or resolved multiple violation proceedings, and, after a combined custody and article 10 dispositional hearing, awarded the aunt custody with supervised parenting time for the mother. On the mother's motion to terminate placement and the aunt's renewed custody petitions, Family Court found extraordinary circumstances and determined that custody with the aunt was in the youngest child's best interests. The mother appealed, and the Appellate Division affirmed; it also held that the appeal was moot as to the middle child because that child turned 18 during the appeal.