Yes, but it’s not automatic. Grandparents must show extraordinary circumstances—such as parental unfitness or disruption—and that custody serves the child’s best interests. In Suffolk County Family Court, timing matters less than proof. January filings are common when conditions worsened over the holidays.
Contact Steven Zalewski, Esq. for guidance.

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Yes—grandparents can request visitation, including holiday time, but they must first prove standing, meaning a substantial, existing relationship or extraordinary circumstances. Once standing is met, Suffolk County Family Court looks at the child’s best interests and the family dynamics. Holiday access is possible, but it must fit the child’s emotional needs and schedule.
Contact Steven Zalewski, Esq. for guidance.

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In New York, grandparents can only seek custody if they prove “extraordinary circumstances.” This means the parents are unfit or unable to care for the child — for example, due to abuse, neglect, substance abuse, incarceration, or abandonment. Once that’s shown, the court decides custody based on the child’s best interests. In Suffolk County Family Court, these cases are handled with great care.If you’re a grandparent seeking custody in Commack or Islandia, call Steven Zalewski, Esq. to discuss your options.

Grandparent rights are not automatic in the way that parental custody rights are.

Grandparents can’t simply say, “We want visitation,” and automatically get it. Their rights are largely dependent on the parents’ arrangement, unless the grandparents can show a substantial, ongoing relationship with the child.

For example:

• If mom and dad live with grandma and grandpa, and the grandparents care for the child every day for five years, that can create a strong basis for grandparent visitation rights once the parents move out.
• But if the family lives with grandparents for only six months and then leaves, that usually does not create a legal right to visitation.

I see many cases where grandparents hire lawyers who promise them everything, and those cases get dismissed on motion because there isn’t enough of a substantial relationship under the law. Without that significant, long-term involvement, grandparents generally have no standing to demand visitation over the parents’ objection.