Kyra's Law Passes NY Legislature: Abuse Safety Test Before Custody

New York's Kyra's Law (A.6194-C/S.5998) passed both legislative chambers on June 5, 2026, and was delivered to Governor Kathy Hochul on June 15, 2026. If signed, it will require every New York family and supreme court to make a threshold safety determination on domestic violence and child abuse before issuing any custody or visitation order — taking effect 270 days later.

Key Facts

The bill is named for Kyra Franchetti, a 2-year-old killed by her father during a court-ordered unsupervised visitation in 2016. According to Spectrum Local News, advocates spent nearly a decade pushing the reform after arguing that family courts routinely minimized documented abuse when awarding parenting time. The legislation reframes how New York courts weigh safety — moving abuse from the middle of a long checklist to the front of the analysis.

Why this matters legally

Kyra's Law changes the sequence of decision-making in New York custody cases. Under current law, N.Y. Dom. Rel. Law § 240 directs courts to consider domestic violence as one of many "best interest of the child" factors — weighed alongside stability, each parent's caregiving history, and the child's wishes. In practice, that meant a judge could acknowledge abuse allegations yet still order unsupervised visitation if other factors seemed to favor contact. Kyra's Law makes safety a gatekeeping question that must be answered first, before the broader best-interest balancing begins.

This is a structural shift, not a cosmetic one. When abuse becomes a threshold determination, a court cannot proceed to a routine custody order until it has evaluated the safety risk on the record. That reordering matters because it forces judges to confront credible allegations early rather than folding them into a discretionary weighing process where they can be diluted. For litigants raising domestic violence concerns, the burden of getting a court to take the risk seriously is meaningfully lower once safety is the entry point rather than one item among a dozen.

The bill also responds to a documented gap between what courts hear and what they order. Advocates for Kyra's Law point to cases where allegations of abuse were on the record but did not prevent unsupervised access. By requiring a safety finding first, the statute aims to close the space between an acknowledged risk and a protective order restricting contact. Courts retain discretion, but they must now show their safety reasoning before granting parenting time in contested-abuse cases.

How New York law handles this

New York custody law currently runs through N.Y. Dom. Rel. Law § 240, which governs custody and visitation and instructs courts to decide based on the best interests of the child. Domestic violence, once proven by a preponderance of the evidence, must already be considered under existing law — but it sits inside the best-interest calculus rather than gating it. Kyra's Law amends this framework so that a threshold safety determination precedes the standard analysis in cases involving domestic violence or child abuse allegations.

New York already gives courts strong protective tools that intersect with this reform. Family courts can issue protective orders under Article 8 of the Family Court Act, and can order supervised visitation, suspend contact, or require batterer-intervention programs when safety is at stake. What Kyra's Law adds is procedural discipline: it requires the court to make and articulate a safety finding, on the record, before it reaches those remedies in the ordinary course. That written-reasoning requirement creates a clearer appellate record when a parent challenges a custody order.

The effective-date mechanics matter for anyone with a pending matter. If Governor Hochul signs the bill, it takes effect 270 days later — roughly nine months of lead time meant to let the court system, judges, and attorneys prepare for the new procedure. Cases filed or modified after the effective date will run through the new threshold test. Parents in a contested divorce involving abuse allegations should expect the safety determination to become an early, decisive stage of their proceeding, not an afterthought.

Practical takeaways

1. Document everything now. If you have safety concerns, preserve police reports, medical records, photographs, texts, and prior orders of protection. A threshold safety determination is only as strong as the evidence in front of the judge — start assembling a dated, organized record before your next court date.

2. Understand the 270-day timeline. Kyra's Law is not yet in effect. If Hochul signs it, the new procedure begins roughly nine months later. Ask your attorney how the effective date interacts with your current filing or any planned modification.

3. Raise safety early, not late. Under the new framework, safety is the entry point. If abuse is part of your case, plan to present that evidence at the outset rather than saving it for a later hearing where it may carry less procedural weight.

4. Know your protective options today. You do not have to wait for Kyra's Law to seek protection. New York family courts can already issue orders of protection and supervised-visitation directives. Learn how child custody and safety orders work together before you file.

5. Map your next steps. A personalized divorce roadmap can help you sequence protective filings, custody petitions, and evidence-gathering in the right order. If your case involves contested abuse allegations, professional guidance is not optional.

If you are navigating a New York custody dispute where safety is a concern, it is worth speaking with counsel who understands both the current § 240 framework and the coming shift under Kyra's Law. You can find a divorce attorney serving your county through our directory.

This article discusses recent news and provides general legal commentary. It does not constitute legal advice. Every case is unique. Consult a qualified family law attorney for advice specific to your situation.