COUNSELING OR TREATMENT SHOULD NOT BE MADE A CONDITION FOR ANY FUTURE MODIFICATION OF PARENTAL ACCESS; HOWEVER COUNSELING AND TREATMENT MAY BE MADE A COMPONENT OF CURRENT PARENTAL ACCESS (SECOND DEPT).
The Second Department, modifying Family Court, determined the court should not have made counseling or treatment a condition for any future modification of parental access, but Family Court appropriately directed mother to submit to treatment as a component of her current parental access:
… [A] “court deciding a custody proceeding may properly direct a party to submit to counseling or treatment as a component of a visitation or custody order” … . “However, a court may not direct that a parent undergo counseling or treatment as a condition of future parental access or reapplication for parental access rights” … . Here, the Family Court should not have conditioned any future modification of the mother’s parental access with the child, in effect, upon her enrollment in mental health treatment and her resulting improvement in mental status, emotional regulation, psychological functioning, and empathy for the child … . Nonetheless, to the extent the court directed the mother to submit to such treatment as a component of her parental access, this was proper … . Matter of Nathaniel v Mauvais, 2025 NY Slip Op 00223, Second Dept 1-15-257
Practice Point: Counseling or treatment can be made a component of current parental access but cannot be made a condition for any future modification of parental access.