Elliot S. Schlissel, Esq. and his dedicated associates are available 7 days a week to speak with clients and potential clients.  They provide aggressive, responsible, expert legal representation regarding all types of matrimonial and family law issues.  Call for a free consultation.

The divorce rate for second marriages, as one might think, would be lower than that of first marriages. However, this is also not true. Approximately two-thirds of all second marriages end in divorce. There are a variety of reasons for this increase in the divorce rate. Since individuals going through a second divorce are experienced with the legal system from the first divorce, they are not as afraid of the system. They realize it is not as difficult to obtain a divorce as they had anticipated. It is also thought individuals in second marriages are less willing to deal with aggravation and other marital problems before they move forward with a divorce than individuals in first marriages.

 Divorces Are Expensive

The enactment of no-fault divorce statutes in all 50 states in the United States has brought down the cost of divorce. If the parties do not have significant assets, are reasonable and can have mature, intelligent discussions with each other concerning issues such as custody, visitation, child support and division of assets, divorce can be simple, inexpensive and not overly burdensome. Yes, there still are cases where people go to war with each other that causes divorces to be expensive.  However, these “war of the roses” types of cases are rare.

Only Women Receive Alimony

This is also simply untrue. In the State of New York, the statute concerning alimony which is called spousal maintenance, is gender neutral. The spouse with the lower income or lack of income whether it be a male or a female can petition the court for spousal maintenance based on a formula related to the needs of the lower income or non-working spouse. In those situations, the spouse with the higher income must pay spousal maintenance over a period of time to the other spouse. In today’s marketplace, many women are the primary bread winners of their family. In these cases, men can petition the court for spousal maintenance and be successful.

Many people think a mother will always get custody of the children in a divorce. This is simply untrue. In the State of New York, each parent has equal rights to obtain custody. The decision as to which parent receives custody is based on the best interest of the child or children. In the end, if the parties cannot resolve custody issues through negotiations between the attorneys, a hearing will be held. At the hearing, a judge will determine who is awarded primary residential custody of the child or children. In situations where both parents have been active in their children’s lives, joint custody is often the best route to follow.

There are numerous factors courts examine to determine who is the more suitable residential custodial parent.  Custody litigation is complicated.  Make sure to have an experienced Family Law attorney representing you in these proceedings.

 The father brought an application to the Family Court requesting he receive joint custody of the child. The Family Court found the mother had intentionally violated the prior custody order.

On appeal, the court found the mother had relocated to Massachusetts without providing the father with an address, telephone number or any other means to get in touch with the child. During the course of the hearing, the mother also conceded she had been intoxicated in the presence of the child, which was a violation of the prior custody order.

In the end, the court based its opinion on the mother’s lack of acting appropriately in the presence of the child because of  alcohol abuse and other mental health issues. The court found the mother to be an unfit custodial parent.

New York has had a no fault divorce law for approximately 20 months. During this period of time, divorce rates have increased throughout New York State between 6 and a 9%. This is a similar increase other states experienced when they adopted no fault divorce law.

Irreconcilable Differences

To obtain a divorce in New York, you no longer have to allege cruel and inhuman treatment, adultery, abandonment or living separate and apart under a written agreement of separation for a period of more than one year. All you have to allege is you have irreconcilable differences with your spouse for a period in excess of six months. You don’t even have to explain what the irreconcilable differences are. Not getting along for six months is enough to get you divorced in New York State!

So now you’re involved in a divorce and you have alleged irreconcilable differences. Issues such as equitable division of property, custody of children, child support, spousal maintenance (alimony), health Insurance and other issues still must be resolved.

 Negotiate Your Divorce

            The best way to deal with a divorce is to negotiate all the issues out of court and enter into a written agreement concerning these issues. This will most often eliminate the need for either of the parties to the divorce to actually appear in court. A trial is not necessary under the new No Fault divorce law.

 Spousal Maintenance

            At the time the No Fault divorce law was passed, the legislation in New York passed a method for calculating temporary spousal maintenance (alimony). This is the amount of money the party to the marriage with the superior earning power pays to the party of the marriage with lesser earning power. Unfortunately, the new statute, instead of simplifying matters, made it more complicated and has resulted in many unfair court decisions. The temporary spousal maintenance statute doesn’t deal with who has to pay the household bills such as mortgage payments, electricity payments, fuel oil payments and cellphone payments. They are not dealt with in this new temporary maintenance statute. It is expected that in 2013, the legislature will consider amendments, recommendations and modifications to this temporary maintenance statute.

If you find yourself in a situation wherein the other parent is violating their obligations to cooperate concerning visitation you should seek out an experienced aggressive attorney to protect your rights. For more than 45 years, Elliott S. Schlissel, Esq. and his dedicated experienced associates have been assisting parents in their quest to see to it that their visitation and custody rights are protected. With more than 100 years of combined a legal experience, the attorneys at the Law Offices of Schlissel DeCorpo litigate custody and visitation issues throughout the five boroughs of the City of New York, Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island as well as Westchester County. The law firm offers a free initial consultation regarding all matrimonial and family law issues.

Supreme Court Justice, Pam Jackman Brown, sitting in Queens County Supreme Court recently dealt with a case involving conflicting stories concerning the respective parents’ incomes. The father had brought a divorce proceeding. The wife asked for spousal maintenance and child support. She alleged that her husband’s annual income was $350,000 a year. The father stated he only made $39,000 the year. The wife also claimed that she had not worked since 2010. Her credibility was taken into question when it was disclosed that her 2010 tax return showed that she earned $39,000 a year. Judge Pam Jackman Brown found that their respective statements concerning their earnings to be incredulous. She found imputed income to the father of approximately $170,000. She based this on the fact that he had $14,000 a month in expenses. The court noted that although the basic child support obligation would normally be $26,000, due to the high standard of living that the parties had during the marriage she awarded the wife $42,000 in child support.

Instead of giving the wife a spousal maintenance award pendente lite (during the pendency on the marriage), the court declined to give the wife maintenance because the husband had agreed to pay all the carrying charges to the marital residence. The court held that the carrying charges of the marital residence exceeded the presumptive temporary maintenance award.

In a recent case before the Appellate Division (an appeals court) in the Third Department, a father, Michael Weber, had sole custody of his child. The mother, Corey Weber, had supervised visitation. The father brought an application to relocate to Illinois. The court granted his application. He had to pay the cost of transporting the child to New York for visitation.

The court, in its decision, took into consideration that this would create a significant distance between the child and the mother and the mother’s extended family. However, in Illinois resided the paternal grandmother and the aunt of the child.

 In this case, the mother had suffered from a “generalized anxiety disorder” and alcohol abuse. This is the reason why the mother only had supervised visitation. Part of the reason for the move was the father had a new position and a reasonable salary that involved employment stability. The court also took into consideration the fact that the father’s extended family lived in the Illinois area.

Appeals Court Affirms Lower Court’s Decision

The Appeals Court affirmed the lower court’s decision to allow the father to relocate. The court’s decision indicated that the move was within the child’s best interest.

 Best Interests of the Children

The standard in New York as to who should be the custodial parent of a child or children does not come down to a tug of war between the mother and father. It is the court’s job to analyze the family situation and determine which parent having custody is in the best interest of the children.  In many situations, both parents have strengths and weaknesses with regard to having custody of the children.  In these situations, the attorneys often try to work out amicable resolutions of the child custody dispute by giving both parents joint custody.  However, it should be noted even in joint custody situations, one parent has to be designated as the residential custodial parent for school district purposes.

Aggressive Legal Representation

Representing fathers in custody disputes as indicated earlier can be an uphill battle.  For more than 45 years the Law Offices of Schlissel DeCorpo have been fighting for fathers’ rights regarding custody and child visitation issues in the Family Courts and the Supreme Courts in the Metropolitan New York area. The attorneys at the Law Offices of Schlissel DeCorpo have more than 100 years of combine legal experience dealing with the complicated and emotionally charged issues involving which parent gets custody of their children.  Contact our law office for a free consultation.

In a case before Judge Bernard Chenj, in the Family Court, Suffolk County, a mother recently sought to relocate to Florida with the parties’ two young children. She had made a previous application to the court before a different Family Court Judge. That application for the same relocation relief was denied.

Children’s Best Interest 

The mother requested to relocate to be with her boyfriend. In her petition, she claimed it was in the children’s best interest that they be relocated to Florida. The court, after examining the mother’s claim, came to a conclusion that the mother did not show an “unanticipated change in circumstances” because her employment situation in Florida was inferior to her current employment in New York.  The court “had serious reservations about to the mother’s true reason for moving to Florida.”

The court also held that there were no educational opportunities the children would receive by moving to Florida. The court made a ruling, based on the preponderance of the evidence, that it would not be in the children’s best interest to move to Florida. This would have an impact by destroying the father’s relationship with the children. Due to the parties’ financial circumstances, a travel program between New York and Florida concerning the children’s visitation would not work. Therefore, the court denied if the mother’s request to relocate the children to Florida.