Custody in New York.
The starting point the law actually sets, what the judge has to weigh, and the deadlines that catch people out.
See a different stateNew York
There is no New York statute presuming joint legal custody, joint physical custody, or equal parenting time. What the statutes do say, twice, is that neither parent starts ahead. Domestic Relations Law § 70(a): "In all cases there shall be no prima facie right to the custody of the child in either parent, but the court shall determine solely what is for the best interest of the child, and what will best promote its welfare and happiness, and make award accordingly." Domestic Relations Law § 240(1)(a) repeats it: "In all cases there shall be no prima facie right to the custody of the child in either parent."
Use the state’s own words
New York still says "custody" and "visitation." You will hear "legal custody," "physical custody" and "residential custody" from lawyers and judges, and increasingly "parenting time" in place of visitation, but none of those phrases are defined in the Domestic Relations Law. The statute simply speaks of "custody of or right to visitation with any child."
How New York decides
Decisions against where the child lives
New York does draw the distinction in practice — legal custody as decision-making authority, physical or residential custody as where the child primarily lives — but it is not written into the statute. Domestic Relations Law § 240 and Family Court Act § 651 give the court broad discretion to "enter orders for custody and support as, in the court's discretion, justice requires" without defining the categories. This is one of the reasons New York custody outcomes vary more than in states with a detailed statutory scheme.
What the judge must weigh
We could not confirm this state’s list of best-interest factors on an official source. Ask the clerk for the statute number, or the court’s self-help center.
What the child wants
There is no statutory age and no statutory rule. What New York does instead is give the child a lawyer. Family Court Act § 249 provides that in any proceeding in which the court has jurisdiction, "the court may appoint an attorney to represent the child, when, in the opinion of the family court judge, such representation will serve the purposes" of the proceeding — and in custody and visitation cases, appointment of an attorney for the child is routine. That attorney is the child's own lawyer, not a guardian reporting to the judge, so an older child's stated wishes reach the court through counsel who advocates for them. How much weight the judge gives those wishes is a matter of court decisions, not statute.
Where there has been violence or abuse
Domestic Relations Law § 240(1)(a). Where a party alleges in a sworn pleading that the other party committed an act of domestic violence against them or against a family or household member of either party as defined in article eight of the Family Court Act, "and such allegations are proven by a preponderance of the evidence, the court must consider the effect of such domestic violence upon the best interests of the child, together with such other facts and circumstances as the court deems relevant… and state on the record how such findings, facts and circumstances factored into the direction." That on-the-record requirement is the enforceable part. The same subsection protects a parent who reports in good faith: if a parent makes a good faith allegation based on a reasonable belief supported by facts that the child is a victim of child abuse, child neglect, or the effects of domestic violence, and acts lawfully and in good faith to protect the child or seek treatment, "then that parent shall not be deprived of custody, visitation or contact with the child, or restricted in custody, visitation or contact, based solely on that belief or the reasonable actions taken based on that belief." And where child abuse is proven by a preponderance, "the court shall not place a child in the custody of a parent who presents a substantial risk of harm to that child." Separately, § 240(1)(a-1) requires the court, before issuing any permanent or initial temporary custody or visitation order, to review related Family Court Act article ten decisions and warrants, the statewide registry of orders of protection, and the sex offender registry.
The paperwork and the people
The parenting plan
No. New York does not require parents to file a written parenting plan, and there is no statewide parenting-plan form that must be filed. Custody and visitation terms go into the court's order or into a settlement agreement incorporated into the judgment.
If the court appoints someone to look into it
Family Court Act § 249 authorizes appointment of an attorney for the child. We could not confirm from an official source the authority for court-ordered forensic custody evaluations or how the cost is allocated, because the New York courts' own website blocked our access. Ask the court, or your lawyer, about a "forensic evaluation" — that is what it is called in New York — and about who pays before one is ordered.
Moving away
What you must do before you move
We could not confirm a notice period or a distance trigger for this state. That does not mean there is no rule — in several states it comes from court decisions rather than a statute. Get advice before you move, not after.
Later on
If you were never married
Family Court Act § 651(b) gives the Family Court jurisdiction over custody and visitation petitions brought by petition and order to show cause, decided "in accordance with subdivision one of section two hundred forty of the domestic relations law" — the same best-interests standard as a divorce. Domestic Relations Law § 70(a) similarly says "either parent" may apply. But a father who is not a legal parent has to become one first: paternity is established in Family Court under article five, and Family Court Act § 542(a) provides that if the court finds the male party is the father, "it shall make an order of filiation, declaring paternity." An acknowledgment of paternity signed at the hospital does the same job without a court case. Until paternity is established one way or the other, an unmarried father cannot get a custody or visitation order.
New York surprises people in one big way: there is no list. Most states hand the judge a statutory checklist of best-interest factors; New York does not. The Domestic Relations Law tells the judge to decide what is in the child's best interests and says that neither parent has a head start, and everything else comes from case law. That means two things for you — a New York custody hearing is more about the story you can tell about your child's actual life than about ticking boxes, and outcomes are harder to predict from the statute alone. The second surprise is that your child will very likely get their own lawyer, appointed by the court, who represents your child's position rather than reporting a recommendation to the judge.
What we could not confirm
- New York keeps several of these rules in court decisions and in the Chief Judge's administrative rules rather than in statutes, and the New York courts' own website (nycourts.gov) blocked us, so we could not verify them. Blank on purpose: the best-interest factors (they come from cases such as the Court of Appeals decisions on custody, not from the statute); what you must do to move away with a child (New York has no relocation statute — move-away cases are decided under a three-part test from case law, so there is no notice period or mileage number we can give you); whether mediation is required before a contested hearing (many New York courts run presumptive ADR programs, but the requirement varies by court and county); and the standard for modifying a custody order. For any of these, ask the clerk in the county where your case is, or call the court's Help Center.
- 3 official pages we tried to read refused automated access. We did not try to get around that, so some detail above was read from a different official source — a published court opinion quoting the statute, or the court’s own forms and instructions.
Compare all fifty states
Where 50/50 really is the default, and the twenty-six states where nothing is presumed.
And the money side
How New York calculates child support, and the overnight number that changes it.
The rest of what we have written about New York. Every figure is quoted from New York’s own statute or its courts’ own published schedule, and carries the date we last checked it.