Best Interests of Child

• In New York, a court will order visitation rights for grandparents only when it deems such a measure to be in the best interests of the child. In making a determination for the best interests of a child, a court will consider the following factors: the child's wishes, the child's relationship with his grandparents, the child's relationship with his parents, the parents' wishes, and the mental and physical health of the grandparents.
  
  

Extraordinary Circumstances

• Grandparents, like any other third party, can request visitation rights or custody of a minor child if they can prove extraordinary circumstances. According to New York Law School professor Stephen A. Newman, the extraordinary circumstances that permit grandparents to seek visitation rights or custody are "child abandonment, abuse, parental surrender, or a prolonged period when the child is separated from the parent and bonds to another care taking adult." If a grandparent or grandparents can prove extraordinary circumstances, a court may grant them visitation rights or custody.
  
  

Death of Parents

• Under the New York State Domestic Relations Law (DRL), grandparents may request visitation rights when one or both of the child's parents dies. If both parents die, a grandparent may also decide to request custody of a child. Courts are reluctant to upset the balance in a child's home, especially after a parent dies, as a child will be very emotional and confused. A court will only order visitation to grandparents only if it's in the child's best interests.
  
  

Parents' Wishes

• Barring special circumstances, a New York court will defer to a parent's wishes when determining whether or not to grant a grandparent visitation rights. It's a parent's right to determine whether she would like her child to visit with a grandparent. So long as a parent adequately cares for a child, a court will not order grandparent visitation. A court will not want to interfere with private family matters or damage the relationship between a parent and a child.
  
  

Court Filing

• A grandparent seeking visitation rights should file a petition in New York Supreme Court or in a New York county family court.