## Facts

- A father initiated a special proceeding in Supreme Court, New York County, seeking custody of, or increased visitation with, three minor children.
- The mother and father had a long-term relationship and raised the children together; two children were adopted by both parties, and one was their biological child.
- Two events precipitated the litigation: the father’s affair with the mother’s adult adopted daughter and allegations that the father sexually abused one of the minor children.
- The father denied abuse and alleged the mother attempted to alienate him from the children through manipulation and hostility.
- The mother asserted the father’s conduct, including continuing the affair and exposing the children to sexually explicit photographs of the adult partner, harmed the children and reflected poor parental judgment.
- The trial court heard extensive testimony and expert evidence regarding the children’s emotional condition and the parents’ judgment and caregiving.
- Although sexual abuse was not conclusively established, the evidence showed the child at the center of the allegations exhibited significant emotional issues requiring therapy and was affected by the surrounding turmoil.
- The trial court awarded the mother sole custody of all three children, denied the father expanded and unsupervised visitation (particularly with the biological child), required supervised visitation, and awarded counsel fees to the mother.

## Issues

1. Whether awarding the mother sole custody of the three children was consistent with the children’s best interests.
2. Whether restricting the father’s visitation, including supervised visitation, was justified under the best-interests analysis.
3. Whether the award of counsel fees to the mother was a proper exercise of discretion.

## Decision

- The Appellate Division affirmed the order awarding the mother sole custody of the three children.
- The court affirmed the denial of the father’s request for expanded and unsupervised visitation and upheld the supervised visitation restrictions.
- The court upheld the award of counsel fees to the mother.
- The court concluded the determinations were consistent with the best interests of the children and deferred to the trial court’s assessment of credibility and expert proof.

## Legal Principles

- Child custody and visitation determinations turn on the best interests of the child, assessed through a fact-specific evaluation of the child’s welfare, stability, and emotional needs.
- Appellate review gives substantial weight to the trial court’s credibility findings and evaluation of expert testimony in child-welfare matters.
- A court may restrict visitation, including ordering supervision, when a parent’s conduct and judgment create a risk of harm or instability for the child, even if allegations of abuse are not conclusively proven.
- Claims that the custodial parent is alienating the children do not control where the record supports restrictions necessary to protect the children’s emotional well-being.
- Awards of counsel fees in custody and visitation disputes are discretionary and will be upheld absent an abuse of discretion.

## Conclusion

The Appellate Division affirmed sole custody to the mother, continued supervised and limited visitation for the father, and upheld counsel fees because the trial court’s findings and the children’s emotional welfare supported the result under the best-interests standard.


Allen v. Farrow, 197 A.D.2d 327 (N.Y. App. Div. 1st Dep’t 1994)