Matter of Felicia S.A. v. Gary C.

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York

Matter of Felicia S.A. v. Gary C.

2017 NY Slip Op 7563, 154 A.D.3d 628, 62 N.Y.S.3d 790

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York·Decided October 31, 2017·No. 4829·Published

Opinion

Order, Family Court, New York County (Christopher W. Coffey, Ref.), entered on or about June 6, 2016, which granted the petitions in part, and awarded joint legal and physical custody of the children to the parties, unanimously affirmed, without costs.

The record does not support the mother’s contention that there was a prior custody arrangement in place, and thus the court’s paramount consideration is the “ultimate best interest” of the children as opposed to whether there has been a change in circumstances (Friederwitzer v Friederwitzer, 55 NY2d 89, 94 [1982]). The Family Court’s finding that it was in the children’s best interest to award joint legal and physical custody to the parties was amply supported.

The parties appear equally well-suited to provide for the children’s needs, have conducted themselves civilly and have generally set aside their personal feelings for the sake of the children (Matter of Victoria H. [Tetsuhito A.], 110 AD3d 636, 636-637 [1st Dept 2013]). The parties have been able to resolve their custody and visitation disputes despite their failure to communicate directly (Matter of Johanys M. v Eddy A., 115 AD3d 460, 461 [1st Dept 2014]).

Concur — Richter, J.R, Webber, Kern and Moulton, JJ.

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Order, Family Court, New York County (Christopher W. Coffey, Ref.), entered on or about June 6, 2016, which granted the petitions in part, and awarded joint legal and physical custody of the children to the parties, unanimously affirmed, without costs.

The record does not support the mother’s contention that there was a prior custody arrangement in place, and thus the court’s paramount consideration is the “ultimate best interest” of the children as opposed to whether there has been a change in circumstances (Friederwitzer v Friederwitzer, 55 NY2d 89, 94 [1982]). The Family Court’s finding that it was in the children’s best interest to award joint legal and physical custody to the parties was amply supported.

The parties appear equally well-suited to provide for the children’s needs, have conducted themselves civilly and have generally set aside their personal feelings for the sake of the children (Matter of Victoria H. [Tetsuhito A.], 110 AD3d 636, 636-637 [1st Dept 2013]). The parties have been able to resolve their custody and visitation disputes despite their failure to communicate directly (Matter of Johanys M. v Eddy A., 115 AD3d 460, 461 [1st Dept 2014]).

Concur — Richter, J.R, Webber, Kern and Moulton, JJ.

Matter of Felicia S.A. v. Gary C., 2017 NY Slip Op 7563, 154 A.D.3d 628, 62 N.Y.S.3d 790 (N.Y. Ct. App. 2017).

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2017 NY Slip Op 7563 (Matter of Felicia S.A. v. Gary C.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Opinion

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