Home » Parenting Articles » The Rights of Non-Custodial Parents in New York
The Rights of Non-Custodial Parents in New York
A look at the rights of non-custodial parents in New York, and how a recent court decision limited those rights even further.
August 05, 2009 /Parenting PR News/ -- The Rights of Non-Custodial Parents in New York
Article provided by Colwell, Ferrentino & Petroccione
Visit us at www.colwell-law.com
In New York, there are two types of custody arrangements for divorcing parents or unmarried parents who are separating. One arrangement is known as joint custody. In joint custody, both parents have the right to make important decisions as to their children's lives. These decisions involve areas of a child's life such as health care, religious upbringing and education. The second type of arrangement is referred to as sole custody. In a sole custody arrangement, only one parent, referred to as the custodial parent, is allowed to make the major decisions for a child. The other parent is known as the non-custodial parent. This article will discuss the rights of non-custodial parents in New York, and how a recent court decision limited those rights even further.
In general, non-custodial parents in New York have few rights. In most cases, a non-custodial parent will have the right to visitation. Visitation may be supervised or unsupervised, depending on the terms of the divorce or family court order. A non-custodial parent also has the right to challenge any decision made by the custodial parent, if he or she believes the decision will be harmful to the children. In rare instances, a court may allow a non-custodial parent to retain decision-making ability in certain aspects of a child's life. For instance, in the case of Frize v. Frize, the mother was granted sole custody, but the father was granted decision-making authority over the child's education. In this case, the father was able to show that he had developed a complete understanding of his child's educational needs. However, New York courts are generally reluctant to deviate from either joint custody or sole custody.
In Fuentes vs. Board of Education of the City of New York, Fuentes, a non-custodial parent, sued the New York City Board of Education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The lawsuit alleged that Fuentes' child, who was blind, was not receiving adequate instruction in school. The Board of Education alleged that Fuentes did not have the standing to sue. The Federal Court for the Eastern District of New York agreed, and dismissed the case.
Fuentes appealed to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. The Second Circuit requested that the highest court in New York, the New York Court of Appeals, answer the question of "whether, under New York law, the biological and non-custodial parent of a child retains the right to participate in decisions pertaining to the education of the child where (1) the custodial parent is granted exclusive custody of the child and (2) the divorce decree and custody order are silent as to the right to control such decisions."
The Court of Appeals revised the question slightly, discussing whether the non-custodial parent retains decision-making authority pertaining to the education of their child. The Court of Appeals held that unless a custody order expressly permits joint decision-making authority in educational decisions, a non-custodial parent has no right to control educational decisions. With this question answered, the Second Circuit concluded that Fuentes lacked standing to sue, and dismissed the case.
The Impact of Fuentes on Non-Custodial Parents
Fuentes made it clear that absent express language in the custody agreement, a non-custodial parent does not have the ability to control the educational decisions of his or her children. However, that does not necessarily mean that a non-custodial parent cannot have any input in their child's educational upbringing. As stated above, the original question to the Court of Appeals was whether a non-custodial parent could "participate in decisions pertaining to the education of the child."
The Court of Appeals stated that "generally, there is nothing which prevents a non-custodial parent (even one without any decision making authority) from requesting information about, keeping apprised of, or otherwise remaining interested in the child's educational progress. Such parental involvement is to be encouraged. However, unless the custody order expressly permits joint decision-making authority or designates particular authority with respect to the child's education, a non-custodial parent has no right to "control" such decisions." This language indicates that non-custodial parents have the right to request information about their child's education, and presumably attend student teacher conferences in order to stay abreast of their child's progress.
As Fuentes illustrates, non-custodial parents have very limited rights in New York. As long as Family Courts are unwilling to deviate from the sole custody/joint custody dichotomy, this is unlikely to change.
Article provided by Colwell, Ferrentino & Petroccione
Visit us at www.colwell-law.com
---
Press release service and press release distribution provided by http://www.24-7pressrelease.com |
|
|
Press Release Contact Information:
Findlaw PR
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Advertise With Us |
About Us |
Contact Us