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Is it advisable to represent yourself in a custody pretrial conference as grandparents seeking custody of a 7 year old?
Anonymous3 views3 answers
Our granddaughter has lived with us for the last 50 months and the mother seems to consent to our obtaining custody, however the father [separated from the mother] is now seeking custody since we've filed. He lives in CA and has only visited his daughter once in the 50 months she's lived with us. Minimal phone contact on top of this. He has 4 other children who live with their respective mothers and he currently lives with his mother and stepfather in a small 2 bedroom apt. She has her own bedroom here and has established a sense of belonging here with school, activities, friends, etc. The initial appearance was at the end of July and we were granted temporary residential custody of her.
In New York State, a biological parent has a superior right to custody of a child as compared to a nonparent. In your case, notwithstanding the consent of the mother, given that both parents are alive you would only have standing to seek custody if you were able to allege and ultimately prove that "extraordinary circumstances" existed to warrant an award of custody to you. "Extraordinary circumstances" is a legal term of art in custody cases which includes but is not limited to legal surrender, abuse, persistent neglect, or abandonment by the biological parent(s) seeking custody against your petition. This is often a very high standard to prove. My advices is that you DO consult with an experienced local family court attorney, because while there may be very compelling facts in your favor your pursuit may still be a difficult one and competent counsel can help you present your case in the most favorable manner.
