Opinion
December 30, 2004.
Appeal from an order of the Family Court, Wayne County (John B. Nesbitt, J.), entered August 20, 2003 in a proceeding pursuant to Family Ct Act article 6. The order modified a prior order of visitation.
Before: Pigott, Jr., P.J., Green, Pine, Gorski and Lawton, JJ.
It is hereby ordered that the order so appealed from be and the same hereby is unanimously affirmed without costs.
Memorandum: Petitioner, an inmate at Groveland Correctional Facility, commenced this proceeding seeking modification of the visitation provisions of a prior order. Family Court properly denied that part of the petition seeking an expansion of visitation from once a month to twice a month. "Where an order of custody and visitation is entered on stipulation, a court cannot modify that order unless a sufficient change in circumstances — since the time of the stipulation — has been established, and then only where a modification would be in the best interests of the children" ( Matter of Watts v. Watts, 290 AD2d 822, 823-824, lv denied 97 NY2d 614). Petitioner failed to demonstrate a change in circumstances warranting modification or that expanding visitation would be in the children's best interests ( see Matter of Folsom v. Folsom, 286 AD2d 830, lv denied 97 NY2d 606; Matter of Davis v. Davis, 232 AD2d 773, 773-774). We reject the contention of petitioner that he was denied effective assistance of counsel ( see Matter of Schimmel v. Schimmel, 262 AD2d 990, 991, lv denied 93 NY2d 817).