Our firm recently gained a decision from the court in a case we were representing.
Matter of Pinsky v. Botnick was handled in the Appellate Department after
the original case had been resolved in 2012. EB had four children with
the late JB. After he passed the grandmother, JP, sought visitation rights
immediately. She served the mother of the children with the petition for
visitation six weeks following the death of the husband. A hearing commenced
and at it the grandmother stated she was close with all the children and
that she believed EB was a capable mother.
The mother gave her side, saying that the family was still trying to process
the death of the husband and the children had been disturbed when they
learned that their mother was required to go to court. She also stated
that the children had feared the grandmother would try to take them away.
A doctor was sought to evaluate the children and he stated that the older
children were dealing with what appeared to be "complicated bereavement"
and they had nightmares regarding the grandmother. At that time, the children's
attorney let the court know that the children did not want to see their
grandparents yet. A court order was given on March 22, 2012 and the grandmother
received visitation rights with the children for three hours every other
Sunday, as well as the ability to email with the children each day. Therapy
was also requested for all of them. The original decision was revisited
and changed a few times.
Following this the mother sought to have visitation date modified so that
it did not begin until October 14, 2012. She stated that the grandmother
had already been showing up to the children's after school events
and extracurricular activities and that on one occasion the grandmother
watched her through the window. She also stated that the grandmother had
contacted school officials asking to be put on the email lists. The motion
of the mother was denied by the Family Court and she continued to appeal.
The case was again reviewed and we were able to sway the decision to the
interests of our client. After going over the details the court found
that the grandmother should not have received visitation rights and that
the mother should not have been required to undergo therapy. This case,
as with many family law issues, included sensitive information and greatly
impacted the lives of those involved. Our firm understands how crucial
it is to receive certain results in a case and the impact that it can
have on all those involved. We handle a range of divorce matters and you
can find out more about these by exploring our site or contacting our office,
Hindin Deutsch, P.C., directly.