Kyra's Law Explained: New York's Custody-Safety Overhaul Awaits the Governor's Signature
Kyra's Law Explained: New York's Custody-Safety Overhaul Awaits the Governor's Signature
New York's Legislature passed Kyra's Law on June 5, 2026 and delivered it to Governor Kathy Hochul on June 15, 2026. As of June 22, 2026 the Governor has not signed it. The bill would make a child's safety a threshold question in custody and visitation cases under New York law.
Information last verified on June 22, 2026. This is a developing story; we update it as the record changes.
Status: Passed both chambers of the New York Legislature on June 5, 2026 and delivered to Governor Kathy Hochul on June 15, 2026. Not signed as of June 22, 2026. Under the State Constitution the Governor has until the end of 2026 to sign or veto the bill. This is a pending bill, not yet law.
Jurisdiction scope: This article addresses a pending New York bill on custody and visitation. It explains the bill's text and the existing New York standard it would modify. It does not address other states' custody rules, it does not predict whether the bill will be signed, and it is not legal advice. For the current framework, see New York child custody laws.
What Happened
Both chambers of the New York Legislature passed Kyra's Law on June 5, 2026, and the bill was delivered to Governor Kathy Hochul's desk on June 15, 2026. It carries Assembly Bill number A.6194 and Senate Bill number S.5998 in the 2025 to 2026 session. As of the verification date of this article, June 22, 2026, the Governor had not acted on it. Under the New York Constitution, a bill delivered to the Governor while the Legislature is in session becomes law unless she signs or vetoes it within the constitutional window, and the Governor's office has indicated she has until the end of 2026 to decide.
The measure is named for Kyra Franchetti, a two-year-old who was killed in 2016 during a court-ordered unsupervised visit with her father, after what advocates describe as repeated warnings about his conduct. Her mother, Jacqueline Franchetti, and a coalition of family-court-reform advocates spent roughly a decade pressing for the changes the bill now contains. Supporters frame the bill as a response to cases in which courts ordered unsupervised contact despite credible safety concerns.
It is important to be precise about posture. Kyra's Law has passed the Legislature, but it is not yet enacted, and its provisions are not in force. Nothing in this article describes current binding law beyond the existing custody standard discussed below. The bill becomes operative only if the Governor signs it, and then only after a delayed effective date.
What the Law Actually Says
New York courts currently decide custody and visitation under the best-interests-of-the-child standard, drawn from Domestic Relations Law section 240 and a long line of decisions interpreting it. Under that framework, a court weighs many factors, including each parent's ability to provide for the child, the stability of each home, and the presence of domestic violence, but no single factor is automatically decisive, and safety is one consideration among many.
Kyra's Law would not discard the best-interests standard. Instead, according to the bill's text and official summary, it would direct that judicial decisions on custody and access promote the safety of children as a threshold matter. The mechanism is a procedural one. On the application of any party, or of the attorney for the child, who asserts facially credible allegations that, if true, would pose a substantial risk to the child's safety, the court would have to conduct a prompt evidentiary hearing and decide whether temporary limitations or conditions on custody or visitation are necessary to avoid that risk before proceeding to the broader best-interests analysis.
The bill would also expand judicial training. Current law requires certain training for judges who hear these cases; the bill would extend comprehensive training on domestic violence, child abuse, and related risks to referees and other hearing officers as well, with the chief administrator of the courts arranging initial training and refresher training at least every two years. Two further provisions address the contested area of parental alienation. The bill would prohibit a court from presuming that a child's reluctance to interact with a parent was caused by the other, protective parent, and it would prohibit awarding custody to a parent for the sole purpose of improving that parent's relationship with the child or overcoming the child's reluctance.
Analysis: Why This Matters
The following is analysis from the Recording Law Editorial Team.
The structural change in Kyra's Law is the sequencing it would impose. Today, safety is one of many best-interests factors a New York court weighs together. The bill would move a credible safety allegation to the front of the analysis as a threshold question with its own prompt hearing. That is a meaningful design choice, because it changes when and how a court must confront an abuse or violence claim rather than only what standard ultimately applies.
The bill also enters a genuinely contested debate over how family courts treat claims of parental alienation. By barring a presumption that a protective parent caused a child's reluctance, and by forbidding custody awards aimed solely at repairing a relationship, the bill takes a position that critics of alienation theory have urged and that some shared-parenting advocates have questioned. Reasonable observers disagree about how these provisions would operate in practice, and that disagreement is part of why the bill drew sustained attention.
We are not predicting whether the Governor will sign the bill or how any future custody case would be decided under it. Those questions are open. What is clear is that the bill, if enacted, would reorder the threshold steps a New York judge takes when a credible safety allegation is raised, and would broaden who must be trained to evaluate such allegations.
How This Affects You
For New York parents and litigants, the immediate point is that nothing has changed yet. Custody and visitation cases are still decided under the existing best-interests standard, and they will remain so unless and until the Governor signs the bill and its delayed effective date arrives. Anyone with an active custody matter is governed by current law today.
If the bill becomes law, its most direct effect would be procedural: a parent or a child's attorney who raises a facially credible, substantial safety concern could ask the court for a prompt evidentiary hearing on temporary protective conditions before the broader custody contest proceeds. Custody rules differ sharply from state to state, so none of this describes the law outside New York. This is general information about a pending bill, not advice about any specific custody dispute.
What Happens Next
The bill now sits with Governor Hochul. She can sign it, veto it, or, in some circumstances, negotiate chapter amendments with the Legislature before signing. Her office has said she has until the end of 2026 to act. If she signs it, the bill provides for a delayed effective date so courts can implement the new hearing and training requirements; reporting indicates that period is roughly nine months after the bill becomes law, though the exact commencement language should be confirmed against the enrolled text once it is signed.
This article will be updated if the Governor signs or vetoes the bill, or if the effective-date provisions are confirmed. The event that would convert this pending matter into settled law is the Governor's signature followed by the arrival of the statutory effective date.
This is general legal information, not legal advice. It covers a pending New York bill, Kyra's Law (A.6194 / S.5998), and the existing New York custody standard, and it reflects sources verified on June 22, 2026. The bill is not yet law. Laws change and consult a lawyer licensed in your jurisdiction about your specific situation.
Sources
- New York Senate Bill S.5998 (2025-2026), Establishes Kyra's Law, bill text and summary, New York State Senate: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S5998
- New York Assembly Bill A.6194 (2025-2026), Establishes Kyra's Law, bill summary and actions, New York State Assembly: https://nyassembly.gov/leg/?bn=A06194&term=2025&Summary=Y&Actions=Y&Memo=Y
- New York Domestic Relations Law section 240 (custody and best interests of the child): https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/DOM/240
Related articles
- New York child custody laws
- Child custody laws by state
- New York orders of protection and restraining orders
- New York divorce laws
Last updated: 2026-06-22. This is a developing story; details verified as of 2026-06-22.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Kyra's Law in effect in New York?
No. As of June 22, 2026, Kyra's Law has passed both chambers of the New York Legislature and is awaiting Governor Hochul's signature. It is not yet law, and its provisions are not in force. The Governor has until the end of 2026 to sign or veto it.
What would Kyra's Law change about custody cases?
It would direct New York family and supreme courts to treat child safety as a threshold matter, require a prompt evidentiary hearing when a party or the child's attorney raises facially credible allegations of a substantial risk to the child, and expand judicial training, while keeping the existing best-interests-of-the-child standard.
Who is Kyra's Law named after?
Kyra Franchetti, a two-year-old who was killed in 2016 during a court-ordered unsupervised visit with her father. Her mother and family-court-reform advocates campaigned for roughly a decade for the bill.
When would Kyra's Law take effect?
Only if the Governor signs it, and then after a delayed effective date set in the bill. Reporting indicates that period is roughly nine months after enactment; the exact date should be confirmed against the signed text.
Does Kyra's Law address parental alienation?
Yes. The bill would bar a court from presuming that a child's reluctance to be with one parent was caused by the other parent, and from awarding custody solely to improve a parent-child relationship.
Sources and References
- New York Senate Bill S.5998 (2025-2026), Establishes Kyra's Law, bill text and summary(nysenate.gov).gov
- New York Assembly Bill A.6194 (2025-2026), Establishes Kyra's Law, summary and actions(nyassembly.gov).gov
- New York Domestic Relations Law section 240, custody and best interests of the child(nysenate.gov).gov