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DESPITE TERMINATION OF MOTHER’S PARENTAL RIGHTS, GRANDMOTHER HAD STANDING TO SEEK VISITATION AND VISITATION WITH GRANDMOTHER WAS IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE CHILD (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing (modifying) Family Court, determined, despite the termination of mother’s parental rights, grandmother had standing to seek visitation with the child and visitation by the grandmother was in the bests interests of the child:

A biological grandparent may seek visitation with a child even after parental rights have been terminated or the child has been freed for adoption … . 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 if 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” … . A grandparent must establish an existing relationship or sufficient efforts to establish one that have been unjustifiably frustrated by the parent … .

Here, the evidence demonstrated that the maternal grandmother developed a relationship with the child early on in her life and thereafter made repeated efforts to continue that relationship … . Accordingly, the Family Court’s determination that the grandmother lacked standing to seek visitation was not supported by a sound and substantial basis in the record. Moreover, visitation with the grandmother would be in the child’s best interests. The grandmother had consistent visitation with the child until the DSS ceased allowing such visitation in November 2014. By all accounts, the grandmother’s visitations conducted separately from the mother’s visitations were positive, and the attorney for the child in the Family Court took the position that the child’s best interests would be served by visitation with the grandmother conditioned on the requirement that the mother not be present for the visitation … . Matter of Weiss v Weiss, 2018 NY Slip Op 03532, Second Dept 5-16-18

​FAMILY LAW (VISITATION, GRANDMOTHER, DESPITE TERMINATION OF MOTHER’S PARENTAL RIGHTS, GRANDMOTHER HAD STANDING TO SEEK VISITATION AND VISITATION WITH GRANDMOTHER WAS IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE CHILD (SECOND DEPT))/VISITATION (FAMILY LAW, GRANDMOTHER, DESPITE TERMINATION OF MOTHER’S PARENTAL RIGHTS, GRANDMOTHER HAD STANDING TO SEEK VISITATION AND VISITATION WITH GRANDMOTHER WAS IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE CHILD (SECOND DEPT))/GRANDPARENTS (FAMILY LAW, VISITATION, DESPITE TERMINATION OF MOTHER’S PARENTAL RIGHTS, GRANDMOTHER HAD STANDING TO SEEK VISITATION AND VISITATION WITH GRANDMOTHER WAS IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE CHILD (SECOND DEPT))

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