Category Archives: Family Law
Different Types of Child Custody Arrangements
Depending on the circumstances of your relationship and divorce, courts may choose from any of a variety of types of child custody arrangements. While courts may draft unique arrangements based on your divorce, there are typically four different types of child custody arrangements that are used: Legal custody. A person who has legal custody a… Read More »
Enforcing Your Right to Child Visitation
If you have not been granted full custody of your children, the courts have likely given you a specific visitation arrangement that will enable you to see them. There are a variety of types of visitation, including weekend visitation, supervised visitation and more. If anyone attempts to interfere with your rights of visitation, there are… Read More »
Is it Helpful if Your Lawyer is a Former Judge?
Question: Is it helpful if your lawyer is a former judge? Answer: No If your lawyer was an ex-judge that would sound like he has an “in” in the Court system. This is far from the truth. We have experience in these matters as we have done numerous trials against attorneys who were ex-judges. What… Read More »
The Termination of Parental Rights in New York
In some circumstances, parental rights can be terminated to provide full custody to one parent or guardian. This is a common issue in cases of adoption or in cases where one of the natural parents is clearly not in the picture. As such, there are several situations in which termination can occur, and it can… Read More »
Basketball Player Nets Lawsuit on Child Education Expenses
Are divorced parents required to pay educational expenses for their children? A former New York Knicks player is about to find out. In April, the ex-wife of Metta World Peace, the basketball player formerly known as Ron Artest, filed a legal action in Manhattan Family Court in support of educational expenses for their gifted 13-year-old… Read More »
The Politics of Marriage: Just Say No?
A new book suggests working-class women should just say no to marriage. In late April, an article in Slate took a look at an upcoming book, Marriage Markets: How Inequality Is Remaking the American Family, authored by two professors of law. The book lays out an argument for social, economic and legal changes that make… Read More »
New York State Court Ruling: “OK to Spank Your Kids”
Last Wednesday, the state Appellate Division found that a father’s spanking of his son “was a reasonable use of force.” The court overruled Suffolk County Family Court’s determination that the father had abused his son “by inflicting excessive corporal punishment.” NY Family Court defines an abused child as one whose parent or other person legally… Read More »
Do Sperm Donors Have Parental Rights?
Known as the heartthrob of the 1987 vampire flick Lost Boys, actor Jason Patric wants to be known as a dad to a child named Gus. Danielle Schreiber and Jason Patric were romantically involved for over a decade. Their on-again, off-again relationship included a period where they attempted to become pregnant but did not succeed…. Read More »
“I’m Going to Kill You” & the Other Horrible Things Your Spouse is Allowed to Say to You
On May 13th, the Court of Appeals of New York ruled that the Penal Law 240.30(1)(a) statute for Aggravated Harassment in the Second Degree is “unconstitutionally vague and overbroad”.1 This statute focuses on someone’s actions which have intent to harass, annoy, threaten or alarm another person. The Court looked to People v. Dietze where the… Read More »
When Pet Custody is an Issue
Many couples and families own beloved pets. The ties that bind humans to animals sometimes outlast those of human relationships. When that happens, sparks fly when one spouse decides Fido is leaving with him or her. In a recent survey, the American Association of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML), reported more than a quarter of its members… Read More »