Child Access/Parenting Time
Over Two Decades of Family Law Experience, Focused on Your Family
When parenting time is in dispute, focused legal counsel makes a real difference. Winter & Grossman, PLLC, based in Garden City, represents parents and families across Nassau County and Suffolk County, and other areas of New York in visitation matters ranging from initial negotiations to enforcement proceedings. Our practice centers on matrimonial and family law, and we bring more than twenty years of that experience to every case we handle.
We approach each matter with the understanding that no two families are alike. Our attorneys take the time to understand your circumstances before recommending a path forward, and we adjust our strategy as the situation develops.
If you have questions about establishing, modifying, or enforcing an access/parenting time arrangement, contact Winter & Grossman, PLLC at (516) 447-8977 to speak with a member of our team.
Custody compared to Access/Parenting Time
Visitation, which New York courts increasingly refer to as access/parenting time, is a legally distinct concept from custody. Legal custody addresses who makes major decisions about education, health, religion as well as other matters. Access/Parenting time addresses where a child primarily resides and when and how a parents share time with the child. Both can be contested, and both require court orders to be legally enforceable.
New York courts set parenting-time terms according to the best interests of the child standard. Among other factors, Judges weigh the child’s safety, each parent’s ability to provide care, the quality of each parent’s relationship with the child, and the child’s own preferences (when old enough for those preferences to carry weight). There is no presumption in favor of one parent over the other.
Types of Child Access/Parenting Time Arrangements that Courts May Order
County courts can order a range of parenting-time arrangements depending on the child’s needs and each parent’s circumstances.
Unsupervised Parenting Time
The most common arrangement typically includes regular weekday and weekend visits, overnight stays, and designated holiday time. The specific schedule is either negotiated between the parties or set by the court.
Supervised Visitation
When a child’s safety or well-being is at risk, a court may order that visits take place with a third party present to monitor the interaction. Grounds include a history of domestic violence, substance abuse, untreated mental illness, or a prior abduction risk. Supervision can be temporary while a parent addresses the underlying concern.
Virtual Access
Video calls and other electronic communication can supplement in-person parenting time, particularly when parents live far apart or frequent travel isn’t practical.
Neutral Exchange Locations
Parents may agree, or a judge may order, that custody exchanges take place at a neutral site such as a school, public library, or even at a police station to reduce conflict during handoffs.
Who Can Seek Child Access/Parenting Time in New York
Parents can seek and be awarded parenting time regardless of marital status. An unmarried father, however, must first establish paternity before the court will recognize his standing to pursue custody or visitation rights. Paternity can be established voluntarily or later or through a court-ordered determination.
Beyond parents, New York law permits a child’s grandparents and siblings to petition for visitation under certain circumstances. The court isn’t required to grant these requests, but it will consider them under the same best-interests framework.
An important point is that visitation rights and child support are generally legally independent. A custodial parent can’t lawfully withhold parenting time because support payments are overdue, and support obligations generally remain in place regardless of whether visits are occurring.
Modifying & Enforcing an Access/Parenting Time Order
An access/parenting time order is not permanent. If circumstances change in a meaningful way, either parent can petition the court to modify the existing schedule. Courts can issue both temporary and final orders and can revise them when there is a legitimate reason to do so.
When one parent violates a court-ordered parenting-time schedule, the other parent can file a violation petition. After a hearing, the judge has several options: modifying the order, awarding compensatory parenting time, or imposing sanctions on the noncompliant parent. A custodial parent who persistently interferes with court-ordered visitation faces a more serious risk as well: that conduct can become grounds for the court to reconsider the underlying custody arrangement.
Where to File in Nassau County
Parenting-time petitions for Nassau County families are filed in one of two venues. Nassau County Family Court, located in Mineola, handles custody and visitation matters along with paternity, child support, and family offense cases. There are no filing fees in New York Family Court. If a divorce is to be commenced or already pending, visitation issues will be addressed in the Matrimonial Part of Nassau County Supreme Court.
Steps To Take
After Visitation Rights
How Winter & Grossman, PLLC Approaches Visitation Cases
Our starting point in any parenting-time dispute is to assess whether a negotiated agreement is achievable. Mediation and direct negotiation, when they work, can produce faster resolution at lower cost and with less strain on children caught between two households. Our attorneys provide clear, realistic assessments of likely outcomes so you can make informed decisions.
When the other parent will not meaningfully cooperate, we can proceed with litigation without hesitation. We build parenting-time strategies around your specific circumstances, not a generic template, and we adjust as facts develop. We are candid about the process and committed to your goals from the first conversation to the final order.
Speak with an Attorney Experienced with Access/Parenting Time Issues
Parenting time is too important to leave to chance. Whether you’re establishing a first visitation schedule, seeking a modification, or enforcing an order that’s been ignored, Winter & Grossman, PLLC can help. Call us at (516) 447-8977 or reach out through our contact form to tell us about your situation.
Mr. Grossman brings more than twenty (20) years of experience as a matrimonial and family law attorney to his mediation practice, having completed both the basic mediation training and the advanced mediation training for matrimonial matters. He added this service to provide clients with an alternative to litigation with the hope that he can help parties resolve their differences more efficiently and as amicably as possible.
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