BAYONNE NEW JERSEY HUDSON COUNTY FAMILY LAWYER

The court dismisses plaintiff's appeal from a Family Part order denying her request for grandparent visitation and custody of the two minor children, of whom she is the biological paternal grandmother, but of whom DYFS now has guardianship as a result of the children's biological mother having surrendered her parental rights to the children's current caretakers for adoption. Plaintiff's son, the children's biological father, is deceased. While plaintiff once did have visitation rights, these were suspended based on a substantiated claim of neglect against plaintiff. Her subsequent efforts to obtain custody and visitation were also rebuffed because of this history and her undisclosed criminal history. Finally, once the biological mother surrendered her rights, plaintiff's rights were also extinguished. Since the adoption is now finalized, the appeal is dismissed as moot.      Bratcher v. N.J. DYFS, New Jersey App. Div. , April 4, 2008