In re: A father’s rightsFamily Court · Supreme CourtManhattan · Queens · All five boroughs
Fathers’ rights lawyer in Queens & NYC
Reviewed by David Schnall, Esq.Last reviewed
Custody, parenting time and paternity cases for fathers, in Family Court and Supreme Court. New York law puts both parents on equal footing, and David Schnall makes sure the court sees the father you actually are.
Free virtual consultation · By video or phone · Confidential
33
Years of family law
N.Y. Bar 1993 · S.D.N.Y. 1994
1,000+
Clients represented
Family law only
4.9
Rating on Avvo
58 client reviews
4×
Avvo Clients’ Choice
2018 · 2019 · 2021 · 2023
NYU
School of Law
J.D. 1991 · B.A. in Finance and Accounting
Every
NYC Family Court
Plus NYS Supreme & S.D.N.Y.
In brief
Fathers’ Rights in New York: key facts.
General information about New York law, not advice about your case. Each point is explained below.
- Which court
- Family Court, or Supreme Court when custody is part of a divorce.
- Mothers and fathers
- Neither parent has an automatic right to custody. The child’s best interests decide.
- Unmarried fathers
- No legal rights or duties until paternity is established, by an Acknowledgment of Paternity or an order of filiation.
- An acknowledgment
- It can be challenged within 60 days of signing, or earlier if a case about the child starts first; after that, only for fraud, duress or a material mistake of fact.
- Child support
- The same rules apply to mothers and fathers.
Equal footing, on the record.
Many fathers walk into Family Court expecting to lose before they say a word. New York law doesn’t start there. Neither parent has an automatic right to custody, and the court decides on the best interests of the child, not on which parent is the mother and which is the father.
Equal footing in the law still has to be shown in the evidence. The judge will want to know who takes the children to school and to the doctor, who handles homework and bedtimes, how you communicate with the other parent, and whether you will support your children’s relationship with them. If you have been doing that work, it needs to be documented. If you have been kept from doing it, that needs to be documented too.
And if you weren’t married to your child’s mother, there is a step before any of it: establishing legal paternity. Until it is established, the law gives a father no rights to custody or visitation, however involved he has been.
New York Domestic Relations Law § 240
In all cases there shall be no prima facie right to the custody of the child in either parent.
Custody, parenting time and paternity, for fathers.
Whether you are asking for custody, answering a petition, fighting for more time with your children or establishing that you are their father, in every New York City Family Court and in Supreme Court.
Custody petitions
Legal and physical custody, sole or joint: asking the court for custody, or answering a petition the other parent has filed.
Visitation and parenting time
A schedule that reflects the parent you are: school weeks, weekends, holidays and summers, with exchanges that keep the conflict down.
Paternity
Establishing that you are the legal father, by acknowledgment or court order, so you can ask for custody or visitation. Or challenging paternity, promptly, when there is reason to.
Modification and relocation
When your circumstances or your children’s needs change, or the other parent wants to move away with them: asking the court to revisit the order.
Enforcement
When visits are missed, calls go unanswered or exchanges don’t happen: enforcement petitions that bring the order back before the court.
Child support
Whether you pay support or, as the custodial father, are owed it: the numbers checked and argued correctly. The same law applies to mothers and fathers.
Not sure your situation fits a box? Most family cases touch more than one. The consultation sorts that out.
Discuss your caseHe has argued custody from every seat.
- i.
Strong for fathers, in clients’ words
What client reviews say
Several client reviews single out David Schnall’s work for fathers in custody cases. He doesn’t ask the court for special treatment. He makes sure it sees what you actually do for your children.
- ii.
A decade as counsel for children
10+ years, court-appointed
For more than ten years the court appointed him to represent children in Family Court. He knows what the child’s lawyer and the judge look for in a parent, and how to show it.
- iii.
Ten years in NYC Family Court
Public defender, 2002–2012
As a public defender in New York City Family Court, he represented parents day after day. He knows how custody and paternity cases move, from the first appearance to the hearing.
How a father’s case moves in New York.
Most custody and paternity cases in New York City start in Family Court. This is the usual path; yours may skip a step or add one.
Which court
Family Court, or Supreme Court when custody is part of a divorce. Paternity is established in Family Court or by a signed acknowledgment.
- 01
Free consultation and strategy
Tell David Schnall about your children and what you want for them. You leave knowing your options, how the case is likely to unfold, how long it may take, and what it may cost.
- 02
Paternity, if you weren’t married
If paternity hasn’t been established, it comes first: through a signed acknowledgment, or a paternity petition in Family Court, where the court can order DNA testing.
- 03
The custody or visitation petition
The case starts with a petition filed in Family Court and served on the other parent. If the other parent has already filed, you answer, and you can ask for what you want in return.
- 04
First appearance and temporary orders
The court may appoint an attorney for the child and set a temporary schedule while the case proceeds. Come prepared: the first appearance sets the tone.
- 05
Investigations and evaluations
In contested cases the court may order an investigation, such as a home study, or a forensic evaluation. How you prepare for these matters.
- 06
Agreement or hearing, and the order
Many cases end with a parenting plan both parents sign. If yours doesn’t, the court holds a hearing and decides. The order can be enforced, and modified when circumstances change.
What New York law actually says.
The short version: the law doesn’t take sides. These are the rules a father’s case runs on.
No automatic advantage
Neither parent has a prima facie right to custody. The court decides solely on the best interests of the child, not on which parent is the mother or the father.
Paternity first, if you weren’t married
An unmarried father has no legal rights or duties toward the child until paternity is established: by both parents signing an Acknowledgment of Paternity, or by a Family Court order of filiation. If the mother is married when the child is born, her spouse is presumed to be the child’s legal parent.
The Acknowledgment of Paternity
Signed voluntarily, often at the hospital, it has the same effect as a court order of filiation. A signer can ask the court to cancel it within 60 days, or before then if a court case about the child starts first. After that it can be challenged only for fraud, duress or a material mistake of fact.
DNA testing
If paternity is disputed, the court orders DNA testing. It can refuse, in a written finding, when testing wouldn’t be in the child’s best interests, for example when a man has long held himself out as the child’s father.
Custody and parenting time
Custody can be joint or sole, and either is possible for a father: the court decides which arrangement serves the child. A parent without custody has a right to parenting time unless the court finds a reason to deny or limit it, such as a risk to the child.
Changing an order
A father can ask to modify custody or parenting time after a substantial change in circumstances, when the change is in the child’s best interests. A parent’s request to move away with the child is decided the same way.
General information about New York law, not legal advice for your situation. The law changes and every case turns on its facts; the free consultation applies it to yours.
… As a father himself, he knew how important my case was to me. He was dilligent and had great follow-up. … Recommend him to everyone and anyone.
Amazing when it comes to representing parents especially fathers in custody issue's! No complaints. Professional, delighted, effective communication, easy to contact and on top of making sure you’re truly represented! Highly recommended.
Reviews are quoted exactly as clients wrote them and reflect individual experiences. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Read more client reviewsAn honest assessment, not a sales pitch.
Your free consultation covers how to achieve your goals, how your case will unfold, how long it will take, and the estimated costs.
Free consultations are virtual, by video or phone: start from anywhere.
Free virtual consultation · By video or phone · Confidential
Fathers’ Rights: straight answers.
The questions people ask first, answered plainly. Your own facts are what the free consultation is for.
The law doesn’t. Neither parent has a prima facie right to custody, and the court decides on the best interests of the child. What decides a case is the evidence about each parent and the child, which is why building the record matters.
Once paternity is legally established, the same rights as any parent: you can ask for custody or visitation, and child support can be ordered either way. If paternity hasn’t been established, that is the first step.
Yes, either. The court decides on the child’s best interests, looking at who has been the main caregiver, each parent’s ability to meet the child’s needs, each parent’s willingness to support the child’s relationship with the other, and other factors.
Go to Family Court: file an enforcement petition if there is a court order, or a petition for visitation or custody if there isn’t, after establishing paternity if needed. Keep a written record of every denied visit and refused call.
You may be able to challenge it, but timing matters. A signer can ask the court to cancel the acknowledgment within 60 days of signing, or before then if a court case about the child starts first. After that, it can be challenged only for fraud, duress or a material mistake of fact, and the court may refuse DNA testing if it wouldn’t be in the child’s best interests. Get advice promptly.
Yes. Child support law is the same for mothers and fathers: the parent the child lives with most of the time generally receives support from the other, calculated under the Child Support Standards Act.
Begin the record.
What you’ll learn in your free consultation
- 01How to achieve your goals
- 02How your case will unfold
- 03How long it will take
- 04The estimated costs
An honest assessment, not a sales pitch.
Free consultations are virtual, by video or phone: start from anywhere.Same-day response from the firm