GARCIA, J.
This case requires that we consider whether Supreme Court properly made a final custody determination without first conducting a plenary hearing. We hold that, on this record, a hearing was required.
After nearly 15 years of marriage, appellant S.L. (Mother) commenced divorce proceedings against respondent J.R. (Father), seeking full custody of their two minor children. Shortly thereafter, Father filed an order to show cause seeking temporary sole legal custody of the children, alleging that he feared for their safety based on a series of alleged incidents involving harassment, extramarital affairs, and abuse of alcohol and prescription medication by Mother. Supreme Court granted Father temporary sole interim legal and physical custody of the children and provided for supervised visitation for Mother. After receiving responsive papers from Mother and the Attorney for the Children, the court issued a second order continuing the interim award of custody for Father and supervised visitation for Mother.
The court later received the report of a court-appointed forensic evaluator, who concluded that Father was the more "psychologically stable" of the two parents. During a subsequent appearance, the court set a briefing schedule and stated that it "may also be in a position to determine custody sua sponte, based on [the] information in this case." The parties submitted letter briefs regarding Father's requested relocation and the court's ability to grant custody to Father without a hearing.
The Appellate Division unanimously affirmed (S.L. v J.R., 126 A.D.3d 682 [2d Dept 2015]). The Court noted that custody determinations "generally may only be made following a full and comprehensive evidentiary hearing," but held that "no hearing is necessary where, as here, `the court possesses adequate relevant information to enable it to make an informed and provident determination as to the child's best interest'" (id. at 682). Pointing to "the parties' affidavits and the report prepared by the court-appointed forensic evaluator," the Court reasoned that Mother "admits" Father's allegations "regarding her emotionally destructive and sometimes violent behavior toward him and the parties' two children" (id.). In addition, "the forensic evaluator, who interviewed the parties and the subject children, concluded that [Father] was the more stable parent, and that [Father] was able to make sound parenting decisions for the children" (id.). The Court also noted that "the attorney for the children supported the award of custody" to Father (id.).
We granted leave to appeal (26 N.Y.3d 910 [2015]) and now reverse.
It is well-settled that parents have a fundamental right to custody of their children (Santosky v Kramer, 455 U.S. 745, 753-754 [1982]; Matter of Ella B., 30 N.Y.2d 352, 357 [1972]). However, in child custody determinations, neither parent has a "prima facie right to the custody of the child" (Domestic Relations Law § 70 [a]). Instead, in assessing questions of child custody, courts must "make every effort to determine what is for the best interest of the child, and what will best promote its welfare and happiness" (Eschbach v Eschbach, 56 N.Y.2d 167,
Our precedent makes clear that custody determinations should "[g]enerally" be made "only after a full and plenary hearing and inquiry" (Obey v Degling, 37 N.Y.2d 768, 770 [1975]). This general rule furthers the substantial interest, shared by the State, the children, and the parents, in ensuring that custody proceedings generate a just and enduring result that, above all else, serves the best interest of a child. Wherever possible, "[c]ustody of children should be established on a long-term basis"; "children should not be shuttled back and forth between divorced parents" merely because of changed circumstances "so long as the custodial parent has not been shown to be unfit" (id. at 770). Given the goals of stability and permanency, as well as the weight of the interests at stake, the societal cost of even an occasional error in a custody proceeding is sizeable. Custody determinations therefore require a careful and comprehensive evaluation of the material facts and circumstances in order to permit the court to ascertain the optimal result for the child. The value of a plenary hearing is particularly pronounced in custody cases in light of the subjective factors — such as the credibility and sincerity of the witnesses, and the character and temperament of the parents — that are often critical to the court's determination.
But in light of our guiding principle — the best interest of the child — there can be "no absolutes" in child custody cases (Eschbach, 56 NY2d at 171; Friederwitzer v Friederwitzer, 55 N.Y.2d 89, 93 [1982]). Custody determinations must be entrusted to the sound discretion of the trial court (Matter of Jewish Child Care Assn. of N.Y. [Sanders], 5 N.Y.2d 222, 228 [1959]). Accordingly, the "general" right to a hearing in custody cases is not an absolute one.
Here, the Appellate Division upheld Supreme Court's decision not to conduct an evidentiary hearing based on its determination that the court possessed "adequate relevant information to enable it to make an informed and provident determination as to the child's best interest." This holding was error.
We take no position on whether the award of custody to Father was an appropriate result; we hold only that, on this record, the Appellate Division erred in holding that a hearing was not required based on an application of the "adequate relevant information" standard. In doing so, we reaffirm the long-established principle that, as a general matter, custody determinations should be rendered only after a full and plenary hearing. We decline, however, to fashion a "one size fits all" rule mandating a hearing in every custody case statewide. However, where, as here, facts material to the best interest analysis, and the circumstances surrounding such facts, remain in dispute, a custody hearing is required. Accordingly, a court opting to forgo a plenary hearing must take care to clearly articulate which factors were — or were not — material to its determination, and the evidence supporting its decision. Under the circumstances of this case, a plenary hearing was necessary.
The order of the Appellate Division should be reversed, with costs, and the case remitted to Supreme Court for further proceedings in accordance with this opinion.