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… Read More »
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… Read More »
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 »
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…. Read More »
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 »
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 »
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 »
A recent Second Judicial Department ruling affirmed spheres of custodial influence in a New York custody case. Shared legal and physical custody is now a common post-divorce parenting arrangement. With the trend toward shared time and decision-making responsibility, some couples experience difficulty communicating with each other in the best interests of their children. My firm… Read More »
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 Monroe County Supreme Court recently affirmed same-sex spouses are both parents to a child born during their marriage. The state of New York, when appropriate, seeks to legitimatize the parenthood of two people who are parents to a child of their marriage. In this case, the birth mother of a child born into a… Read More »