Case Name: In the Matter of Valeria Koch, Petitioner, v. Elizabeth Koch, Respondent
Court: New York Family Court
Jurisdiction: New York
Decision Date: 1979-04-02
Citations: 99 Misc. 2d 124
Docket Number: 
Parties: In the Matter of Valeria Koch, Petitioner, v Elizabeth Koch, Respondent.
Judges: 
Reporter: New York Miscellaneous Reports
Volume: 99
Pages: 124–124

Head Matter:
In the Matter of Valeria Koch, Petitioner, v Elizabeth Koch, Respondent.
Family Court, Suffolk County,
April 2, 1979
APPEARANCES OF COUNSEL
Abraham Norwood for petitioner. Stuart Serota for respondent.

Opinion:
OPINION OF THE COURT
Arthur J. Abrams, J.
There is no authority for an award of counsel fees in a custody proceeding other than from one parent to another (Matter of Carnese v Carnese, 93 Misc 558).
Subdivision (b) of section 237 of the Domestic Relations Law, the applicable statute, provides that only a husband or father can be directed to pay counsel fees in a custody proceeding. This section was amended in 1978 and the Legislature saw fit not to alter the above-stated provision despite the fact that existing section 72 of the Domestic Relations Law gave a grandparent the right to petition for visitation of a grandchild under certain circumstances. Thus, we hold that the special financial interdependence that exists between spouses and parents that gives rise to the obligation to pay counsel fees in a custody proceeding does not exist between a mother-in-law and a daughter-in-law as in the case at bar.