Troxel v. Granville

The most important case concerning grandparents’ rights was decided by the United States Supreme Court in the year 2000. The name of this case is Troxel v. Granville. This case was not specifically involved with grandparents’ rights. The case dealt with third parties having custody of children. The United States Supreme Court made it clear that states needed to be careful in passing laws concerning who should receive custody of children. As a result of this case, state legislatures have been careful with regard to drafting laws concerning issues involving grandparents’ rights to custody and visitation. Case law, not Statutory law, is generally looked into by the courts to determine whether grandparents should be given visitation or custody of their grandchildren.

Visitation Arguments For Grandparents

There are a number of significant arguments grandparents can make in bringing a visitation proceeding in the Family Courts in the State of New York. The first argument involves grandparents who have had an active role in their grandchildren’s lives. In this situation, it can be argued, it is not in the grandchildren’s best interest to suddenly lose access to beloved grandparents. Even in situations where the parents do not get along, were not married, one parent dies, there was a divorce or there is a parent who is incarcerated, the custodial parents of the children should not be allowed to eliminate the relationship between the grandchildren and the grandparents.

Non-Legal Measures

Before grandparents decide to utilize the legal system to protect their rights, they should communicate with the parent who are interfering with their visitation and calmly discuss the issue. Grandparents should not make negative statements to their grandchildren concerning their parents.  This can create stress between the children and their parents and will certainly not endear the parents to the grandparents.

Sometimes the issues between the parents and the grandparents have to do with the way parents are raising their grandchildren. Parents have rights to make customary day to day decisions concerning their children’s lives.  However, in cases where the children are abused or neglected, the grandparents should contact Child Protective Services.

Grandparents’ Rights And Litigation

In the State of New York, proceedings to enforce grandparents’ rights are brought in the Family Court. The proceeding is initiated by preparation of a Notice of Petition, filing it with the court and having the Petition served on the parents. Thereafter, the courts will try to mediate the dispute and if that doesn’t work there will be a hearing to determine whether the grandparents should be given visitation.

Grandparents’ Rights Lawyers

Bringing a grandparents’ rights proceeding is not a simple matter. Before you hire an attorney to represent you in a grandparents rights proceeding, you should look into his or her level of experience in dealing with these types of matters.  The grandparents’ rights lawyers at the Law Offices of Schlissel DeCorpo have been litigating grandparents’ rights cases for more than 45 years.

Grandparents’ rights can be considered the right to take legal action to ask for custody or visitation with grandchildren.  Courts generally only give grandparents custody of their grandchildren when the parents are unfit. Unfitness as a parent can be related to the parents being a drug addict, being incarcerated, having no relationship with their children and in cases where the parent has being abusive or neglectful of the children.

Best Interest Of The Children

The best interest of the children is a doctrine that holds the custody of the children should be awarded only after taking into consideration by the Court what is in the children’s best interest. This simply means the court should do what is the right thing for the children in a given situation.

Grandparents’ Rights To Visitation With Their Grandchildren

In situations where there has been a nasty divorce case or where one of the natural parents dies, issues concerning grandparents’ rights can come into play. In a case where the natural parent dies and the other parent had not maintained a relationship with the children, grandparents can come into court and ask for custody of the grandchildren. It should be pointed out there is a strong preference by the courts to give custody of the children to the other parent provided the parent is found to be an appropriate resource. In cases where the other parent had been absent for the children’s lives, the courts will usually order a period of increasing visitation to see if this parent is an appropriate resource to raise the children.

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.