My mom wants grandparents rights, my ex and I don't want her to.

[Rushia]

How are things going with you Russia?? Is baby doing well??

I'll update you in a pm later as I'm eating and getting ready for court today. Baby is well, he figured out that he can roll over last nite.

 

[You Are Guilty]

The fact is the law is clear, and in the parent's favor. The judges are hit or miss as to how they apply the law. The "trick" is to stand your ground and don't let them railroad you into something contrary to your wishes. (Even for attorneys, that is easier said than done - judges have a lot of different ways to screw you over.) Of course, that just means an appeal if their order grants visitation. The App Div is more than happy to reverse, and frankly, if more people appealed (and won), the judges would be that much less likely to issue their retarded orders in the first place.

But again, remember you can't take one case and say that's how the system works.

Best of luck to both of you!

 

[Bluemonkey]

The fact is the law is clear, and in the parent's favor. The judges are hit or miss as to how they apply the law. The "trick" is to stand your ground and don't let them railroad you into something contrary to your wishes. (Even for attorneys, that is easier said than done - judges have a lot of different ways to screw you over.) Of course, that just means an appeal if their order grants visitation. The App Div is more than happy to reverse, and frankly, if more people appealed (and won), the judges would be that much less likely to issue their retarded orders in the first place.

But again, remember you can't take one case and say that's how the system works.

Best of luck to both of you!

Jeepers, a bit touchy aren't you? Did you write the statute?

I never said that she will loose, win or otherwise, merely to take the offensive and not assume that because she and her ex are united in this, that she will win. My case was merely an example of the fact that the law is not always applied correctly not a poster for GPs always win.

I'm aware that in some areas the courts treat the cases differently than others, and I'm aware that it's not the law itself, but rather the interpretation of the law by the courts that is the problem. I stand firm that if the statutes were more defined, there would be less room for the courts to apply their own interpretation to them.

If the courts in NYC are parent friendly, that's great but not everyone lives in NYC. I couldn't be further from there.

No, we did not represent ourselves and our attorney fought like a bulldog. He used the words appeal after every sentence. It was kind of amusing. We were ordered to give visits, but in the end it was not even close to what they wanted.

By the way, we are an intact family both opposed to the court ordered visits and we never, ever denied vists in the first place. All the things that were supposed to be in our favor.

Blue

 

[Bay1954]

I agree with Blue -I know many many parents who have been sued for GPV in NY State both in NYC and upstate. The statute is vague and even when the parents are part of a traditional intact family, most often the courts and attorneys treat the case as a parent v parent affair.
To You Are Guilty-there was an article published in the New York Law School Journal a few years back by Prof Steve Newman called "Five Critical Issues in New York State's Grandparent Visitation Law" (I might be a bit off on the actual wording of the title but a google search for Five Critical Issues Grandparent Visitation and Newman will bring you to it. It is quite an eye opener.
I had given CLE classes in NYC on this topic a couple of years ago. Quite an eye opener to the attys who attended same.

 

[Bay1954]

More to You Are Guilty
I think you might be confusing the issue here with custody v visitation. Yes, in custody cases, parents have the advantage over the third parties. However, read the new DRL 72-in 2004, a GP lobbying group from Albany successfully had the statute amended to include a provision for custody for defacto parents (GPS only) when the child had been "abandoned" by the parent for 24 months or more. An already flawed statute was amended to include a custody clause. Again, Steve Newman's article explains all.
The grandparent visitation law in NY is a result of heavy lobbying not what is right or wrong. Not unlike many state statutes but this one hits home, here we have fit parents fighting for the right to raise their children without government interference. My emphasis is on fit parents; tax payers, voters, often pillars of the community. Disgruntled GPs use the courts to bully their adult children.
And yes, my husband and I were sued for GPV back in 1995. We are the ONLY case I know of in NYC and NY State that won without a full blown trial. Perhaps because we were summoned to Supreme Court rather than Family Court.
Not without great expense, all together, it cost us approximately $100,000.00 to fight for our children. We were in debt for nine years owing to this.
But hey there is also a bright side, the suit caused me to go into law and I have had the great privilege to help other fit parents fight and win.