GRANDMOTHER ENTITLED TO HEARING ON WHETHER SHE HAS STANDING TO PETITION FOR VISITATION.
The Second Department, in a case related to the cases summarized immediately above and below, determined Family Court should not have dismissed grandmother’s petition for visitation on standing grounds without first conducting a hearing:
Where a grandparent seeks visitation pursuant to Domestic Relations Law § 72(1), the court must undertake a two-part inquiry … . First, the court must determine whether the grandparent has standing to petition for visitation based on the death of a parent or equitable circumstances … . Where the court concludes that the grandparent has established standing, the court must then determine whether visitation with the grandparent is in the best interests of the child … . In determining whether equitable circumstances confer standing, the court must examine all relevant facts … . “[A]n essential part of the inquiry is the nature and extent of the grandparent-grandchild relationship,” including whether the grandparent has a meaningful relationship with the child … .
Here, the grandmother’s petition alleged the existence of a sufficient relationship with the child to confer standing upon her to seek visitation … . Further, the information before the Family Court was insufficient to enable it to undertake a comprehensive independent review of the standing issue, without a hearing … . Matter of Weiss v Orange County Dept. of Social Servs., 2016 NY Slip Op 05716, 2nd Dept 8-3-16
FAMILY LAW (GRANDMOTHER ENTITLED TO HEARING ON WHETHER SHE HAS STANDING TO PETITION FOR VISITATION)/VISITATION (GRANDMOTHER ENTITLED TO HEARING ON WHETHER SHE HAS STANDING TO PETITION FOR VISITATION)/GRANDPARENTS (FAMILY LAW, GRANDMOTHER ENTITLED TO HEARING ON WHETHER SHE HAS STANDING TO PETITION FOR VISITATION)