FAMILY COURT SHOULD NOT HAVE MADE RULINGS ON CUSTODY AND MOTHER’S PETITION TO RELOCATE BEFORE COMPLETING THE HEARING (SECOND DEPT).
The Second Department, reversing Family Court, determined Family Court should not have awarded sole custody of daughter to mother and granted mother’s petition to relocate without completing the hearing:
The mother commenced this proceeding against the father seeking to modify a prior order of custody so as to award her sole legal and physical custody of the parties’ two children and permit her to relocate with both children to the State of Washington. The Family Court commenced a hearing and, prior to the completion of the hearing … modified the prior order so as to award the father sole legal and physical custody of the parties’ son and so as to award the mother sole legal and physical custody of the parties’ daughter and permit her to relocate with the daughter to the State of Washington. …
Here, where there were many controverted issues, the Family Court should not have awarded the mother sole custody of the parties’ daughter and permitted her to relocate with the daughter prior to completing the hearing. The father had not had the opportunity to present a case and was deprived of the opportunity to cross-examine a key witness called by the mother. Moreover, the court failed to give proper consideration to the effect that the daughter’s relocation from New York to the State of Washington would have on the relationship between the siblings, especially given the mother’s stated willingness to remain in New York … . Matter of Pinto v Pinto, 2019 NY Slip Op 08195, Second Dept 11-13-19