Matter of Karen v. Florence

Full title: In the Matter of KAREN D., Appellant, v. FLORENCE D., Respondent

Court: Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, First Department

Date published: Dec 22, 1994

210 A.D.2d 165 (N.Y. App. Div. 1994)

620 N.Y.S.2d 358

Opinion

December 22, 1994

Appeal from the Family Court, Bronx County (Philip C. Segal, J.).

The Family Court properly determined that respondent maternal grandmother demonstrated the existence of extraordinary circumstances which would drastically affect the welfare of the child were the natural parent to obtain custody (Matter of Bennett v Jeffreys, 40 N.Y.2d 543, 546, 549). The record reveals that petitioner voluntarily left her son in the custody of his grandmother, with whom he has lived his entire life, without any notice and without making any provision for his care. During the three year period she resided elsewhere, she visited sporadically. According to a psychiatrist and the child himself, his grandmother is his primary caretaker, to whom he is very attached, which provided ample support for the court's determination.

Concur — Sullivan, J.P., Wallach, Kupferman, Asch and Tom, JJ.