Once your divorce is finalized, you may wish to retake your maiden name. This is a common step taken by most women after divorce, as they understandably wish to begin to next phase of their life by shedding the last remaining tie to their previous marriage. There are a variety of laws in place to change your name, and the…
There may be situations in which your ex falls behind in child support payments, causing financial hardship for you as the custodial parent. Whether there is any malicious intent on the part of the support-paying parent is irrelevant — he or she has a legal obligation to fulfill the terms of the support arrangement. If your former spouse falls behind…
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 person who has both the…
As you go through your divorce, the court system will determine your ability to meet the basic needs and rights of your children when setting child custody arrangements. Your ability to meet these needs determines how fit you are to be a primary custodian. Some examples of those basic needs and rights include: Quality education. Children have a right to…
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 steps you can take to…
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 I have learned is that…
Property division is generally one of the most contentious issues in divorce, and it doesn’t only regulate how real estate or household possessions are divided. Other financial awards, including disability benefits, are also considered to be marital assets, meaning they are also subject to the property division process. Disability benefits are typically paid to a worker after illness or injuries…
In the state of New York (as in most other states), all marital property is subject to equitable distribution during divorce proceedings. Marital property is defined as any type of property acquired during the marriage, not including any property acquired by gift or inheritance during that time period. Common examples of marital property include real estate, bank accounts, pensions, businesses…
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 be either voluntary or involuntary.…
Visitation to minor children is available in divorces for when one parent has sole custodial rights over the children. There are various state laws in place governing visitation, in terms of time, frequency and the types of visits allowed. Here are various elements of visitation plans that you will need to be familiar with if you are not the custodial…