Grandparents commonly have a warm, loving relationships with their grandchildren.  These relationships are sometimes interrupted by parents who cut off the grandparents from seeing their grandchildren.  This can be caused by divorces, orders of protection between the parents and/or one of the parent’s desire to simply eliminate the other parent’s father or mother from having a relationship with the grandchildren.

Law Regarding Grandparent’s Rights

Grandparent’s rights issues are to be determined by each State.  State Law, not Federal laws, provide guidelines with regard to grandparent’s maintaining a relationship with their grandchildren.  In New York State, if grandparents can document they previously had a warm, loving relationship with their grandchildren, the grandparents can take legal action to force a parent or parents to give them visitation. This is especially true when the grandchildren have lived with the grandparents or the grandparents have provided child care for the grandchildren.  Grandparents are more than free baby sitters for their grandchildren.  They form part of an important familial relationship that is irreplaceable!

Legal Remedies For Grandparents

The Family Courts in the State of New York are given the authority to make decisions concerning visitation and custody.  Grandparents that have been cut off from their grandchildren can bring a proceeding in the Family Court in the county in which the grandchildren reside to enforce the grandparent’s rights for visitation.

There has been a case decided by the United States Supreme Court named Troxel v. Granville.  This United States Supreme Court case took a rather narrow view of Grandparent’s rights.  The case was decided on the basis of protecting parents’ rights to raise their children.  However, in cases where grandparents’ visitation with their grandchildren will not be harmful, to either the children or the grandchildren, and the grandparents have had an excellent relationship with the grandchildren in the past, the Courts in New York will generally order the parents to allow the grandparents to have visitation with their grandchildren.  The basis for the Courts decision concerning issues involving the grandchildren will be what is in the best interest of the grandchildren.

Conclusion

If you are a grandparent and you are prevented from having visitation or communication with your grandchildren you have two choices. You can walk away from your grandchild’s lives or you can take legal action, if necessary, to see to it your grandchildren know that you still love them and want to be part of their lives!

Most families today involve two working parents. Both the father and mother in many families get up each morning and go to work. The days where there was a stay at home mom and she was, per say, given custody in virtually all cases, is long gone.  Fathers’ rights have come a long way in the 21st century. Although fathers have received custody of their children in more situations today than they have in the past, they are still litigating an uphill battle in most custody cases. The significant changes in law in the State of New York giving fathers equal rights to obtain custody have not eliminated all of the prejudice and assumptions that still exist in judges’ minds when they are faced with the issue of who should receive custody of the child or children.

Fathers’ Rights Lawyers

Having an experienced fathers’ rights lawyer to advocate on your behalf is the most important step you can take if you are a father and you seek custody of your children. Fathers’ play important roles in their children’s lives. Studies have shown children who don’t have significant interaction from their fathers are more likely to drop out of school, be involved later in life in domestic violence and are more likely to be involved in the use of illegal drugs.

Even in cases where a father does not have custody of his children it is important for the father to be involved in his children’s lives. Fathers have a right to be in their children’s lives and should fight to see to it that these rights are protected.

Mistakes Made By Father Is In Custody And Visitation Disputes

There are a number of common mistakes made by fathers in custody and visitation disputes. This applies to fathers in situations where they are married and in situations where the children are born out of wedlock.

            1.  Moving out of the home. It is almost always a mistake for the father to move out of the home where the mother and the children reside. In some situations, the mother will simply change the locks and not allow the father back in the house. This will cause the father to obtain court orders and spend potentially significant amounts of money on lawyers to get the visitation he would have had if he had simply stayed in the home.

            2.  Failure to fight false orders of protection. A technique sometimes utilized by some women as a precursor to custody disputes is to file either in the Family Court or the Criminal Court false allegations of domestic abuse. In these situations, courts tend to hand out temporary orders of protection to women based on unsubstantiated allegations. Fathers sometimes think they can’t win these cases and that by stipulating to either a stay away or do not harass order of protection is the easiest way out of the situation. This is a tactic commonly utilized by women whose real desire is to obtain custody of the children. Fathers need to aggressively fight false applications for orders of protection. Consenting to an order of protection can have a significant limiting impact on a father’s ability to have custody, visitation and/or a relationship with his children.

About The Author

Elliot S. Schlissel, Esq. is an attorney practicing Matrimonial and Family law in the metropolitan New York area for more than 35 years. He and his staff of attorneys have successfully litigated numerous cases on behalf of fathers involving issues concerning custody and visitation. Our phones are monitored 7 days a week.  Call 1-800-344-6431, 516-561-6645 or 718-350-2802 for a free consultation.

The nastiest part of divorces and Family Court proceedings usually relates to issues involving custody disputes. When parents break up, fights involving custody if not discreetly and delicately handled, can end up in ugly litigated cases. It is a necessity in any custody situation to have the best possible child custody lawyer.

 Litigate Or Settle

If custody issues cannot be amicably resolved through a negotiated settlement, detailed complex litigation as to who will be the residential custodial parent will ensue in either the Family Court or the Supreme Court in New York. Custody litigation requires well prepared cases to enhance the potential of having a successful outcome.

 Best Interest Of The Children

The best interests of the children are utilized by Family Courts and Supreme Courts to determine who will receive custody. This takes into consideration each parent’s ability to be a nurturing parent and provide food, clothing, shelter, healthcare, guidance and other necessities for the children. The courts look into the stability of the parent, his or her home life, education and parenting skills. The court may also take into consideration the age, sex and desires of the child.

 Attorney For The Child

In New York, the court will appoint an attorney to represent a children in a custody proceeding. This attorney meets with the children and advocates on behalf of the children.

 Conclusion

Parents play significant roles in the lives of their children. Custody battles are nasty difficult proceedings. In most cases, some level of compromise is the better route to take than to have an all-out battle and have a court decide a winner and loser.

About The Author

Elliot S. Schlissel, Esq.  and his staff of attorneys have been litigating child custody, visitation and orders of protection cases throughout the metropolitan New York area for more than 45 years. Call for a free consultation.

A Georgia woman filed a divorce proceeding in New York. She requested custody of the parties’ children, spousal maintenance, exclusive use and occupancy of her Georgia home, child support and she that her husband pay additional expenses related to the marriage. Justice Pam Jackman Brown, a Supreme Court Judge, sitting in Queens County, New York, in her decision stated the wife lived in Georgia with the children of the marriage and she sought to apply New York law on the issues concerning child support. The only nexus with the State of New York was the husband’s residency in New York.

 Wife’s Financial Request Was Unreasonable

The parties’ daughter was born in 1994. She was already 18 years of age at the time the proceeding was brought. Therefore, the Court ruled child custody was a moot issue and need not be decided. Although the Court found the husband was the moneyed spouse and the wife was seeking $43,000 under the New York Temporary Maintenance statute, the Court did not grant her request. Justice Brown adjusted the maintenance award. She found that the $43,000 requested by the wife was unjust and inappropriate since the husband was making mortgage payments without any contribution from the wife.

The Court also found the wife had sufficient assets on her own to meet all of her monthly expenses. The court also denied the wife’s applications for temporary child support. Justice Brown found under the circumstances in this case it would be unjust and inappropriate.

Child Support Payable In New York Until Children Are 21

Child support payments in the State of New York must be made by the nonresidential custodial parent to the residential custodial parent until the children are either emancipated after age 18 or reach age 21. In some states, child support is not required to be paid until 21 years of age. These states only require a parent to pay child support until the child is 18 years of age.

Conclusion

In this case, the greedy wife was unsuccessful in getting money she wasn’t entitled to.

Fathers’ began to organize because they felt they were being unfairly treated with regard to issues concerning custody of their children.  Fathers felt they were being discriminated against and had a disadvantageous position with regard to custody issues.  Fathers sought to create an environment in the Family Court where their equal rights to have custody of their children were actually enforced.

Fathers in Custody Disputes

If you are a father involved in a custody dispute, you want the most experienced, dedicated attorney representing you.  If you are a caring loving parent, deserving of custody you should be awarded custody.  The fathers’ rights lawyers at the Law Offices of Schlissel DeCorpo have more than forty-five (45) years of experience taking legal action on behalf of fathers to obtain custody and visitation with their children.  Call for a free consultation.

In an unusual case, Justice Jeffrey Sunshine, sitting in a Supreme Court Matrimonial Part in Kings County, recently awarded a mother the custody of the family’s twin children.  However, Justice Sunshine awarded the father decision making custody concerning medical issues for the twins.  The case started by both parents asking for Orders of Protection and custody.  The mother had brought a divorce action against the father based on cruel and inhuman treatment.  She contended the father had physically and verbally abused her and she had lived in a domestic violence shelter for a year after she moved out of the marital residence.

Upon testimony being taken, no evidence of physical abuse was presented to the court.  The court found that the mother had alienated the twins from their father.  She had accomplished this by convincing the children she was physically abused and that the father would abuse them also.

 Child With An Eating Disorder

One of the twins had a severe eating disorder.  The mother had refused to place this child in a residential or day treatment facility to deal with this severe eating disorder. Although the mother had alienated the children from the father, Judge Sunshine took the position removing the children from custody of the mother would cause them more harm than good.  He gave the mother custody of the twins.  However, he awarded father decision making custody concerning all medical issues.

Equitable Distribution Of Marital Property

Some states in the United States have Community Property Laws. Community Property Laws state all assets of the marriage are divided equally. New York has an Equitable Distribution Law concerning the division of marital property. The statute sets out a number of factors courts consider with regard to the division of marital assets. Among these factors are:

1. The income of the parties.

2. The duration of the marriage.

3. Health and age of the parties.

4. Who will have custody of the minor children?

5. Who will receive occupancy of the marital residence?

6. Is the marital property a liquid assets or an asset that is non-liquid?

7. The future ability of the parties to be self-supporting?

8. The tax consequences of the distribution of the assets.

9. Other factors the court may feel are relevant to the equitable distribution of property.

Conclusion

Divorce in New York is not an easy process. Find a qualified, experienced, aggressive and compassionate divorce lawyer and let he or she guide you through the legal maze of obtaining a divorce in New York.

Jurisdiction

The courts in New York only exercise jurisdiction in divorce cases where a minimum of one party resides in the State of New York. New York has very specific residency requirements set forth in New York Domestic Relations Law section 170 (DRL 170).

Divorce Aggravation

When parties seek to end their marriage, they often find the legal process to be stressful, slow and more complicated then they imagined. Issues concerning the division of assets, child custody, child support, spousal maintenance (alimony) and visitation can be both complicated and stressful. An experienced divorce lawyer can simplify the process and help deal with the aggravation and frustration that is often caused by the dissolution of a marriage.

Marital Property Versus Separate Property

Marital property is property accumulated by the parties during the course of a marriage. Separate property is property accumulated by one spouse prior to the marriage. In addition, assets inherited or received from personal injury awards, maintained in the name of one spouse obtained before the marriage or during the marriage, are also considered separate property. Marital property is subject to equitable distribution. Separate property is not. Marital property may also include real estate, corporations, business interests and professional licenses obtained by doctors, lawyers, architects and others.

A decision by Justice Rose of the Third Department, Appellate Division (an appeals court) found an abusive mother had a “lack of insight” concerning her children.  This is the basis for the court awarding the father sole custody of their three children.

The Family Court, St. Lawrence County, in upstate New York found the mother swore and yelled at her ten year old son.  She even called him an “asshole” on her Facebook account.  She claimed she called him an asshole because that’s what “he is.”  She wanted all of her friends to know her son was an asshole.

Barbara Potter, a Family Court Judge siting in St. Lawrence County found joint custody was no longer viable.  She had awarded sole custody to the father.  The Family Court found the family’s oldest child had mental health problems.  Although he participated in counseling, the mother refused to cooperate.  She also used physical force to restrain her son.  The court found she yelled at him on a regular basis and made disparaging remarks to him.

 Order of Protection Given To Children Against Mother

Judge Potter found the mother’s behavior to be so outrageous she granted the children an Order of Protection against her.  She was barred from posting communications about the children on any social networking website.  The decision of Justice Rose in the Appellate Division came from an appeal brought by the mother.

 Appeals Court Unanimously Finds Against the Mother

The Appeals Court found that the mother’s inappropriate use of the Internet to make demeaning, disparaging, inappropriate remarks about her child was outrageous.  The Court also found she showed a lack of remorse and insight concerning her lack of parenting skills.

The Appellate Court affirmed the decision of the Family Court changing custody from jointly held between the father and mother to sole custody to the father as well as granting the Order of Protection to the children.

Robert Sand, age 50, of Syosset, New York, has been described as the “most wanted dead beat parent.”   He has recently plead guilty to criminal charges for failure to pay 1.2 million dollars in child support payments related to two previous marriages.

Mr. Sand has been hiding for more than 10 years.  He was recently arrested in the Philippines.  The Philippines extradited him to the United States in December of 2012.  Mr. Sands admits that he has been on the run to avoid paying his child support payments for more than a decade.

Nassau County Family Court Issues Arrest Warrant

In the year 2000, an arrest warrant was issued by the Family Court in Nassau County for Mr. Sand.  To avoid being arrested, he moved to Florida and thereafter left the country.  In 2009, he was indicted for failure to make child support payments.  He currently faces approximately three years in Federal prison under Federal sentencing guidelines.

Mr. Sands had lived in Syosset, Long Island, New York and had been involved in the auto auction business.  It is estimated during the 1990’s his income was between $500,000 and $600,000 per year.

 Conclusion

You can run but you can’t hide forever from your financial obligation to support your children.

 About The Author

Elliot S. Schlissel, Esq. is a fathers rights lawyer representing fathers in divorce proceedings, family court proceedings and all issues affecting fathers marital rights and  father’s visitations rights with their children.