New York Divorce Attorney Fights for Visitation Rights for Fathers

A dad is a parent. A parent is family. Don’t be labeled a visitor!

It’s insulting for fathers in New York to be told they can have visitation with their children. Calling these sessions parenting time does little to remove the stigma. At Bryan L. Salamone & Associates, P.C., we fight for equal custody rights for fathers. Unfortunately, even though the law in New York is gender neutral, its application consistently favors mothers as primary caretakers. So we see many conscientious fathers relegated to secondary roles as visitors! What’s worse, many of these fathers must endure attacks on their characters in court as mothers attempt to restrict their parental rights altogether. This is why we fight aggressively for fathers’ rights, so you can enjoy a loving relationship with your children without any threat of interference.

Understanding visitation rights in New York

When the court awards sole physical custody to one parent, usually the mother, the noncustodial parent is supposed to get frequent, meaningful visitation. In most cases, a parent’s visitation is unsupervised. However, when the custodial parent has attacked the noncustodial parent’s character, the court may restrict the noncustodial parent’s visits:

  • Supervised visits — If the court decides that a parent can't be alone with the child, the court appoints someone to supervise the visits. This order can result when the court has serious concerns about a parent's ability to act properly with the child, especially in cases where domestic violence has occurred, even if the violence was not directed toward the child.
  • Therapeutic supervised visits — When a parent is emotionally troubled or immature and has deficient parenting skills, the court may order a mental health professional to supervise the visits and use this time to improve parenting skills.
  • Neutral place of exchange — When parents cannot get along, especially where there is a history of domestic violence, the court will order the exchange for visitation to take place at a safe location, such as a police station, school, library, or other public place.
  • Monitored transition — The court can also direct that a third person be present when the child goes from one parent to the other for visitation.

Interference and parental alienation in New York visitation

Many fathers who’ve already been limited to visitation suffer further indignity when their ex deliberately interferes with the regularly scheduled visits. Some go so far as to undermine the child’s relationship with the father, subtly rewarding the child for refusing to see the father, while punishing the child for expressing positive feelings toward the dad. At Salamone & Associates, we find this type of behavior reprehensible, and we fight aggressively against parental alienation, often pressing the court to award joint custody as the only true remedy. We have an impressive record of defending divorced and unwed fathers’ custody rights.

Hire an attorney who fights passionately for fathers’ visitation rights. Don't wait. Call now.

Bryan L. Salamone & Associates, P.C. fights aggressively for fathers who’ve had their visitation rights restricted. If you suspect interference or parental alienation is at play, we’re ready to help. Contact us for a free initial consultation at 1.631.479.3839 or contact our office online.