This information has been adapted for the following New York Counties: Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans, and Wyoming.
Custodia y Visitas – 8vo Distrito Judicial
¿Qué es la custodia?
Existen 2 tipos de custodia: custodia física y custodia legal.
Custodia física decides where the child lives.
Court orders for physical custody can work in many ways:
- Custodia física compartida
- Primary or sole physical custody: This means that one parent takes care of the child most of the time and the other parent has visitation or parenting time with the child. Visitación means you can see your child during certain times.
Custodia legal decide qué adulto tiene la responsabilidad de tomar decisiones importantes (como decisiones médicas o religiosas) sobre la vida de un niño.
Court orders for legal custody can work in different ways:
- Joint legal custody between the parents
- Primary or sole legal custody: This means that one parent makes the final decisions for the child.
¿Qué es la custodia legal compartida?
La custodia legal compartida significa que ambos padres deben hablar entre sí y ponerse de acuerdo sobre decisiones importantes sobre su hijo. Comparten esta responsabilidad independientemente de dónde viva el niño.
¿Cómo presento (pido) la custodia o el régimen de visitas?
Presentas una petición (pe-TI-shun) for custody or a petition for visitation in the county where the child lives. A petition is a written request. Judges often make decisions about custody and visitation at the same time in Family Court. If the parents have a divorce going on, then custody will usually be decided in Supreme Court along with the divorce.
¿Puedo conseguir un abogado para que me ayude?
Yes. You can hire your own attorney to represent you in a custody case. If you cannot afford one, you may apply for an assigned (or 18-B) attorney at no cost to you. You must submit your current financial information so the judge can determine if you qualify. If your case involves only visitation, generally you do not have the right to an assigned attorney, even if you qualify financially.
¿Quién tiene la custodia de un niño si no hay orden judicial?
Los padres comparten los mismos derechos a la custodia física y legal del niño cuando no existe una orden judicial.
¿Tengo que ir a la corte para obtener la custodia o las visitas?
No. Many times parents can come to an agreement without going to court. They often use mediación. Mediation is when someone called a mediator helps you and the other parent come to an agreement. However, mediation is not a good idea when there has been domestic violence. If you are interested in mediation, ask a Family Legal Care staff member for the name of a center near you.
¿Cómo funciona la mediación cuando acudo a los tribunales?
Sometimes the court will send you to mediation after you start your case. If that happens, the mediator can help you come to a decision about your situation. If you are able to come to an agreement, you can let the judge know what it is. If the judge agrees with you, the judge can make it into an order.
¿Quién puede solicitar la custodia?
Cualquier padre legal puede solicitar la custodia de su hijo. Cualquier otra persona que desempeñe un papel importante en la vida del niño (como un pariente o un amigo de la familia) también puede solicitar la custodia al tribunal. Si no es padre, el juez revisar, o mirar el caso de manera diferente para ver si tiene el derecho legal de solicitar la custodia. Consulte la página 3 de esta guía para obtener más información.
¿Por qué debería solicitar la custodia?
Hay muchas razones por las que es posible que desee iniciar un caso de custodia. Aquí hay algunas razones comunes:
- If you are not living with your children and you want to
- If you believe your children are being harmed where they live now or are in danger of being harmed
- If you are not married to the other parent, and you want a court to say what your rights are
Soy padre. ¿Cómo decidirá un juez la custodia de mi hijo?
When two biological parents want custody, a judge must determine what is in the mejores intereses de los niños. El juez considerará muchas cosas al resolver esto. El caso no se decidirá en función de quién ama más al niño o quién tiene más dinero. El juez no favorece a uno de los padres sobre el otro, incluso si el caso involucra a un niño pequeño. Durante el caso, el juez escuchará a todas las partes. Cada caso es diferente como cada familia es diferente. La decisión del juez sobre la custodia y las visitas dependerá de los hechos y circunstancias del caso de su familia.
¿Mi hijo podrá opinar sobre quién obtiene la custodia?
Most children are given an abogado (lawyer) by the court to represent them in the custody cases. The attorney is called an abogado del niño. The attorney for the child’s job is to tell the judge what the child wants. If the child is old enough to say what he or she wants, the judge may consider it, depending on the child’s age and maturity. The judge and the attorney for the child want to be sure that it is what the child really wants, not what one parent has asked the child to say. It is very important that you do not tell a child what to say. Sometimes the judge will schedule a date and time to meet only with the child and the attorney for the child. You will be notified about any meeting between the judge, your child, and the attorney for the child.
¿Qué pasa si las cosas cambian después de que el juez dicta una orden?
A veces las cosas cambian después de que el tribunal dicta una orden de custodia o visitas. Eso se llama un cambio de circunstancias. Si esto sucede, puede presentar una petición para solicitar que se modifique la orden, llamada petición petición de modificación. Modify means to change. The judge will hear the case and, if appropriate, can make a new order.
No soy padre pero quiero solicitar la custodia. ¿Cómo decidirá un juez la custodia del niño?
When a judge is deciding a custody case between a parent and someone who is not a parent, different things will be considered. First, the judge will decide whether there are circunstancias extraordinarias. Examples of some extraordinary circumstances are: when a court has determined that there has been abuse or neglect; the child has been harmed by domestic violence; or when there is substance abuse in the home of the parent. It might also mean that the non- parent (a person who is not a parent) has been caring for the child for a very long time. It is automatically considered to be an extraordinary circumstance if a grandparent has been caring for a child for two years.
Si existen circunstancias extraordinarias, el juez decidirá qué es lo mejor para el niño. Si no concurren circunstancias extraordinarias, el juez desestimará la petición.
No quiero la custodia, pero quiero ver a mi hijo. ¿Cómo hago esto?
Si no desea la custodia, pero desea visitar a su hijo, debe presentar una petición de visita. The court will almost always allow a parent to visit with the child.
¿Por qué el tribunal NO permitiría que un padre visite a un niño?
Si hay evidencia mostrando que sus visitas pondrán al niño en peligro (lastimarán al niño). La evidencia es información presentada al tribunal para probar un caso. Ejemplos de cosas que el tribunal podría considerar peligrosas son los problemas con las drogas o el alcohol, un historial previo de abuso sexual del niño o la exposición de un niño a la violencia doméstica.
Often, if the court thinks the child would be in danger, it will order visita supervisada. This means someone else is there to watch while you visit with the child. This can be at an agency or by a person on whom both parents agree.
¿Puedo visitar a mi hijo si está en cuidado de crianza?
Yes. Parents have a right to visit with their children at least once every two weeks if the children are in foster care. However, if a parent’s rights have been terminated, he or she does not have the right to visit the child. For more information, please see Family Legal Care’s guide, “Terminación de la patria potestad”.
¿Puedo solicitar visitas a un niño si no soy el padre?
Grandparents and siblings can petition for visitation with children. The judge will order visitation if special circumstances have led to the person not being able to visit with the child and if it is in the best interests of the child.
The following is an example of a special circumstance:
You are a grandparent and your child died. Before your child died, you saw your grandchild often. Now you never see your grandchild.
¿Qué pasa si hay una orden de protección y una orden de visitas?
Sometimes the court will order that the child has to be picked up and dropped off at a police station or some other safe place so that the parents will have no contact with each other.
Si el tribunal cree que ha habido violencia doméstica en el hogar y que el niño estaría en peligro físico o emocional al pasar tiempo a solas con la persona, el juez también puede ordenar visitas supervisadas.
Si el padre que no tiene la custodia no paga la manutención de los hijos, ¿puedo suspender las visitas?
No. Child support and visitation are separate matters. The courts believe that it is best for children to spend time with both parents.
In fact, a judge may punish a parent who stops visits by the other parent without permission from the court. Many times the judge will keep the visits going, regardless of whether or not the parent is paying child support.
¿Qué puedo hacer si el otro padre no sigue la orden?
Puedes presentar una petición de violación in court. This lets the judge know what has been going wrong. Some examples of violations are: missing visits, arriving late to visits, acting inappropriately with the child during the visits, bringing the child back late, and not talking to the other parent about important decisions if the order gives you joint legal custody. The judge will hold a hearing to determine if the parent has violated the order and how to respond (for example, if a penalty should apply or if the order should change).
¿Puedo elegir quién quiero que cuide a mis hijos si me pasa algo?
Sí. En el estado de Nueva York puedes designado, or name, someone to take care of your children if you are sick and not able to do it. The person you designate is called a guardián de reserva. Los tutores de reserva pueden ser amigos o familiares. No es necesario estar enfermo para designar un tutor de reserva. No renuncia a la custodia cuando designa un tutor de reserva.
You can designate a standby guardian by filing a petition in either Family Court or Surrogate’s Court. There is also a special form that you can fill out that lets you temporarily designate a standby guardian without going to court first.
Este documento no debe reemplazar una consulta con un abogado. Family Legal Care alienta a todas las personas involucradas con los sistemas de tribunales penales y de familia a consultar con un abogado.