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GRANDMOTHER SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED OF HER RIGHT TO COUNSEL IN THIS CUSTODY CASE; MATTER SENT BACK TO FAMILY COURT TO DETERMINE WHETHER GRANDMOTHER WAS ELIGIBLE FOR ASSIGNED COUNSEL (THIRD DEPT).

The Third Department determined grandmother should have been notified of her right to counsel in this custody case. But the question remains whether grandmother would have qualified (financially) for assigned counsel. The matter was sent back to Family Court to rule on grandmother’s eligibility for assigned counsel:

We find merit to the grandmother’s argument that she was potentially eligible for the assignment of counsel at the March 2017 appearance and that Family Court erred in failing to advise her of that right. The purpose of providing counsel to certain persons [*3]involved in Family Court proceedings is to provide protection against “infringements of fundamental interests and rights” (Family Ct Act § 261). The grandmother was listed as a respondent in the mother’s modification petition brought under Family Ct Act article 6, part 3 … , which sought sole legal and primary physical custody of the child. As of the initial appearance on that petition in March 2017, the grandmother jointly shared “secondary legal custody” with the mother. Accordingly, the mother’s request for sole legal custody of the child, if granted, had the potential to alter the grandmother’s custodial rights. We are mindful that the mother subsequently withdrew her request for custody and instead advocated for the child’s placement with the grandmother. However, she did not do so until the fact-finding hearing, nearly four months after the March 2017 appearance. Family Ct Act § 262 (a) requires the court to advise an eligible person of the right to counsel “[w]hen such person first appears in court” … . As the grandmother was potentially eligible for assigned counsel under Family Ct Act § 262 (a), upon a showing of the required financial circumstances, the court was obligated to advise her of that right at the March 2017 appearance … . Matter of Renee S. v Heather U., 2021 NY Slip Op 03635, Third Dept 6-10-21

 

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