Sanders v. Ballek
| Decision Date | 03 February 2016 |
| Docket Number | Docket No. V-3497-13.,2014-10028,2014-06092 |
| Citation | 24 N.Y.S.3d 219,136 A.D.3d 676 |
| Parties | In the Matter of Maria SANDERS, appellant, v. Kevin BALLEK, respondent. |
| Court | New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division |
Barbara J. Caravello, Jamaica, N.Y., for appellant.
Law Offices of Seidner & Associates, P.C., Garden City, N.Y. (Matthew S. Seidner of counsel), for respondent.
Jeffrey Guerra, Hempstead, N.Y., attorney for the child.
MARK C. DILLON, J.P., L. PRISCILLA HALL, JEFFREY A. COHEN, and BETSY BARROS, JJ.
Appeals from (1) an order of custody and visitation of the Family Court, Queens County (John M. Hunt, J.), dated May 8, 2014, and (2) a decision of that court dated September 17, 2014. The order of custody and visitation, after a hearing, inter alia, awarded sole legal and physical custody of the subject child to the father and certain visitation to the mother.
ORDERED that the appeal from the decision is dismissed, without costs or disbursements, as no appeal lies from a decision(see Schicchi v. J.A. Green Constr. Corp., 100 A.D.2d 509, 472 N.Y.S.2d 718 ); and it is further,
ORDERED that the order of custody and visitation is modified, on the facts and in the exercise of discretion, by adding a provision thereto directing the parties to determine a schedule for weekday, holiday, birthday, and vacation visitation for the mother; as so modified, the order of custody and visitation is affirmed, without costs or disbursements, and the matter is remitted to the Family Court, Queens County, for further proceedings consistent herewith.
The parties were never married and have one child in common. The mother filed a petition pursuant to Family Court Act article 6 seeking, inter alia, custody of the subject child. After a hearing, the Family Court, inter alia, awarded sole legal and physical custody of the subject child to the father and certain visitation to the mother.
"In adjudicating custody and visitation rights, the most important factor to be considered is the best interests of the child" (Matter of Jules v. Corriette, 76 A.D.3d 1016, 1017, 908 N.Y.S.2d 89 ; see Eschbach v. Eschbach, 56 N.Y.2d 167, 172, 451 N.Y.S.2d 658, 436 N.E.2d 1260 ). To determine the best interests of the child, the court is to consider various factors, including "the parental guidance provided by the custodial parent, each parent's ability to provide for the child's emotional and intellectual development, each parent's ability to provide for the child financially, the relative fitness of each parent, and the effect an award of custody to one parent might have on the child's relationship with the other parent" (Matter of Berrouet v. Greaves, 35 A.D.3d 460, 461, 825 N.Y.S.2d 719 ). "Since weighing the factors relevant to any custody determination requires an evaluation of the credibility and sincerity of the parties involved, the hearing court's findings are accorded deference, and will not be disturbed unless they lack a sound and substantial basis in the record" (Matter of Jackson v. Coleman, 94 A.D.3d 762, 763, 941 N.Y.S.2d 273 ).
Here, the Family Court's determination that an award of legal and physical custody to...
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