Donald Eschbach, Appellant, v. Rita Eschbach, Respondent, 56 N.Y.2d 167

Summary

Two older children expressed a desire to live with their father, and a younger child who expressed no preference as to custody desired to remain with her sisters. The trial court granted custody of the three children to the father, but the appellate division reversed as to the youngest child, and ordered her to remain with her mother. The court reversed the appellate division and reinstated the trial court's judgment. The court held that the evidence demonstrated that the mother was the less fit parent, and given the totality of the circumstances and the weight of the evidence, including the younger child's desire to remain with her older sisters, the mother's ability to cope with raising the children, and the father's desire to provide a fuller and more enriched environment for his daughters, the determination of the trial court had to be accorded great deference on review. The court held that it was often in a child's best interests to continue to live with their siblings, and ...