Sinnott-Turner v. Kolba

Summary

The Appellate Division, Second Department, reviewed orders concerning modification of child visitation, custody, alleged violation of a visitation order, forensic evaluation, and therapeutic supervision. The court affirmed the orders in substance but held that the Family Court improperly delegated future visitation decisions to a therapist, modified one order accordingly, and remitted the matter for further proceedings on visitation.

Holdings

1. The father failed to establish a change in circumstances warranting transfer of custody from the mother to him.
2. The father failed to establish that the mother violated the prior visitation order.
3. The evidence established a change in circumstances sufficient to modify visitation and require that the father's visitation be supervised by a therapist.
4. The Family Court properly appointed a neutral expert to conduct forensic evaluations and properly qualified the forensic evaluator as an expert.
5. Any error introduced by the forensic evaluator's report or testimony was harmless and did not require reversal.
6. The Family Court improperly delegated authority to determine future visitation issues to the therapist.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the father established a change in circumstances and the child's best interests sufficient to transfer custody from the mother to him.
2. Whether the mother violated the prior visitation order by failing to provide the father's visitation.
3. Whether the evidence established a sufficient change in circumstances to modify the visitation order and require therapist-supervised visitation.
4. Whether the Family Court properly appointed and qualified a forensic evaluator and whether any inaccuracies in the evaluator's report or testimony required reversal.
5. Whether the Family Court improperly delegated its authority over future visitation issues to a therapist.

Disposition

remanded