In a custody dispute before Justice Matthew F. Cooper, sitting in Supreme Court of New York County, a mother brought a proceeding which claimed the father was argumentative, contentious and rigid. She alleged since the father was so difficult she could not co-parent with him. Therefore, she should be awarded sole decision making authority and also be awarded to have sole custody of the parties’ son.

The father also agreed that joint decision making was not viable. He argued that both he and the mother should each have final decision making authority. He claimed they should be deemed to have joint custody of their son.

Justice Cooper in his decision took into consideration what was in the child’s best interest. Justice Cooper’s ruling was it was not in the child’s best interest to have the father’s standing as a parent denigrated by designating him a non-custodial parent. He ruled the child’s best interests would be served if there was a shared decision making process. The judge rendered a hybrid decision that didn’t give either parent sole custody. He outlined in his decision that each of the parents was to have decision making authority in specific areas of their son’s general health, education, and well-being.

Conclusion

This court’s decision is an attempt to keep both parents who don’t get along, very involved with their son’s life. Unfortunately, my experience in situation of this nature is if the parents don’t put their child’s interest ahead of their animosity to each other, this judge’s decision will not work.

In a case before Justice Linda Christopher sitting in the Supreme Court in Westchester County, Judge Christopher dealt with a matter that shocked her consciousness. In this case the mother had left and hidden the parties’ children. The father was given temporary legal and physical custody of the children. The father brought an action seeking permanent legal and physical custody of the children. In his moving papers he claimed the mother kidnapped the children. He further claimed the mother attempted to suffocate the children. He claimed the mother tried to strangle her son. He claimed the mother had denied who she was for years.

Justice Christopher conducted a hearing on this matter. Testimony was submitted that shocked the Hearing conducted of the court. She found that the mother was unbelievable. The judge found the father was a credible individual capable of taking care of the children. Judge Christopher found there were instances of child abuse by the mother with regard to the parties’ children. She ruled that the mother was a potentially dangerous person to be around the children. She found the mother should only have supervised visitation with the children.

Father Given Sole Legal and Physical Custody

She awarded the father sole legal and physical custody of the children. She found this was in the children’s best interests. The mother was permitted to receive copies of school and health records; however she barred the mother from having information concerning the children’s schedule and details of the children’s’ daily life. She felt the mother posed a danger to the children.

New York State is one of the seven states in the United States which does not generally award joint custody to both parents of minor children. Joint custody arrangements can be made in New York, however, they have to be made pursuant to an agreement between the parties. The agreement can take place in a Stipulation of Settlement in a divorce, a Settlement Agreement in a custody proceeding in family court or pursuant to a Separation Agreement.

If the parties have not worked out a joint custody arrangement out of court, judges in New York will usually determine the issue of which parent receives custody of the children based on the best interests of the children. In these situations the court will award one parent residential custody of the children and the other parent parenting time (this is the politically correct term for visitation).

Fathers Seeking Custody

Fathers who seek to obtain custody of their children have to be aware that although the law has been gender neutral concerning who receives custody in New York for many years, mothers win the majority of custody legal battles. It is important, therefore, for a father who seeks to have custody of his children to retain an experienced, dedicated attorney who has experience advocating for fathers to obtain custody.

Father as the Primary Caretaker

In cases where the father has been the primary caretaker of the children, is the better provider, who puts the children’s best interests in the forefront of his thoughts, he should have the opportunity, if he desires, to become the sole residential custodial parent if a joint custody arrangement cannot be worked out. In the event the father does not seek to litigate the issue of custody, he should then seek to have parenting time equal to the time that the children spend with their mother. Fathers can actually end up being the non-custodial parent of their children and having all of the time to spend with their children that they desire.

Although many fathers assume that children’s natural caretaker would be their mother, this is not the status of the law in New York today and it has not been the status of the law in New York for many years. Fathers who seek to obtain custody of their children and are prepared to do battle in court have been more successful in obtaining their children’s custody in recent years. The first step a father should take if he seeks custody of his children is to retain a law firm which is committed to protecting the rights of fathers when dealing with family law situations.

Elliot S. Schlissel is a father’s rights lawyer representing fathers for more than 45 years throughout the Metropolitan New York Area.