REMOTE LEARNING ISSUES, NOT BASIS FOR CHANGE IN CUSTODY
In a case in New York County, a father had custody of the party’s child. The mother brought a lawsuit to change custody. She sought full decision making authority regarding the parties’ child. She claimed there had been a change in circumstances. The pleadings indicated the father “repeatedly and unreasonably fails to communicate…regarding the child’s health, medical, dental and educational issues.”
THE MOTHER’S ALLEGATIONS
The Mother specifically alleged the child was consistently failing to log in or logged in late for his school classes. The school classes had been held remotely during the course of the Covid-19 pandemic. She claims in some situations the child was marked absent because he logged on so late. The mother also claimed the child failed to turn in school work and didn’t attend supplementary tutoring.
THE FATHER’S POSITION
The Father brought a motion to dismiss the mother’s petition. Judge Hasa Kingo sitting in the Family Court of New York County ruled the allegations of the mother, even if true, did not establish there was a change in circumstances which would warrant a hearing regarding the best interests of the child. Judge Kingo noted the overwhelming majority of petitioner’s allegations involved remote schooling. These allegations took place in 2020. In 2021, the child returned to school on a full time basis and therefore these allegations were no longer relevant.
The Judge in this case dismissed the mothers petition for change of custody to her and for her to have full decision making authority.
CONCLUSION
This is a case where the father continues to have custody of his child. Fathers who fight to keep custody of their children can be successful!
Elliot S. Schlissel, Esq. is a divorce lawyer representing men and women throughout the Metropolitan New York area. He can be reached at Elliot@sdnylaw.com or 800-344-6431.
Joint Custody Given To Parents
In a case before Judge Javier Vargas, a Judge sitting in the Family Court of Kings County. A Father brought a joint custody petition seeking joint legal custody and full visitation rights with a child he had with the Mother. The Mother wanted to have sole legal custody of the child.
Joint Custody Granted
Judge Javier found it was in the child’s best interest for the parties to share joint legal custody. Each of the parties would have certain spheres of influence with regard to the child. There was evidence presented at trial. The evidence established both parents loved the child. Both of the parents had a positive healthy relationship with the child. Both parents wanted to play an active role in the child’s education and emotional development. In addition, the court found the parents had stable jobs. Both of the parents had residences which were appropriate for the child to spend time in. Both of the parents were also prepared to provide continuous financial support for the child.
Fathers Application Granted
The court granted the Father’s application for joint custody. In addition, the court ruled the Mother would have residential or physical custody of the child. The court went on to hold both the Father and Mother would share in all decision making. This included issues involving education, medical issues, religious up-bringing, residence and extra curricular activities the child would be engage in. The court reserved to the Mother the final determination on major medical and religious issues. The court also awarded the Father the final determination concerning education and extra curricular activities.
Conclusion
This is a case where there were two loving dedicated parents. Both parents wanted what was in the child’s best interest but could not work things out between each other. In this case, Judge Javier Vargas made a Solomon like decision giving the parents joint custody, allowing the child to live with the mother and having both parents involved in the majority of the significant issues involving the child but carving out specific matters each of the parents would be in charge of.
Elliot S. Schlissel, Esq. is a divorce lawyer representing men and women throughout the Metropolitan New York area. He can be reached at Elliot@sdnylaw.com or 800-344-6431.
Sexual Abuse Allegations and Custody Issues.
Custody battles can be very nasty undertakings. Sometimes inappropriate allegations of sexual abuse of a child are made. Even when these allegations are either unfounded or untrue they can create major problems during the custody litigation. The allegations of sexual abuse can be subject to Family Court action, Supreme Court action in divorces and also Criminal Court penalties.
Many of the cases involving allegations of sexual abuse involve children ages from 3 to 7 years old. Children during these ages are easily impressionable. They can become tools for parents in protracted divorces and/or custody cases in the Family Court. Children can be convinced to say virtually anything in these situations. They can be convinced to say things to investigators related to alleged inappropriate sexual activities.
Defending False Allegations of Sexual Abuse of Children
Unfortunately when a person is accused of sexual abuse of an infant there is a presumption guilt. It is difficult on a psychological and practical level to deal with a false allegation of the sexual abuse of a child. In a situation involving these allegations it is extremely important to retain an attorney or law firm who has prior experience in dealing with child protective services and agencies who do the investigation concerning these matters. Unfortunately the first step usually, taken by a court when there are allegations of sexual abuse of a child is to bar that parent from having any unsupervised contact with the child or children. A parent is usually only given supervised visitation, at best, during the entire pendency of the investigation and trial process. Unfortunately this can sometimes go on for years.
Elliot S. Schlissel, Esq. is a divorce lawyer representing men and women throughout the Metropolitan New York area. He can be reached at Elliot@sdnylaw.com or 800-344-6431.
Parental Alienation
Parental alienation is inappropriate behavior by one parent whether it be the father or the mother which is designed to have a negative impact on the relationship between the children and the other parent. It can be considered a type of brainwashing. Parental Alienation is the manipulation of children by one parent for the purpose of preventing or destroying a warm and loving relationship the children have with the other parent. Parental alienation is harmful to the children. Parental alienation has been known to cause both emotional and psychological damage to children. The parent that is victimized loses his or her ability to maintain a relationship with the children through no fault of his or her own. In some cases allegations of sexual or physical abuse are part of the parental alienation scheme.
Parental Alienation Syndrome
A child subject to parental alienation often develop parental alienation syndrome and develop an intense dislike for one of their parents even though there is no logical reason for the child’s behavior to that parent. If you suspect the other parent is engaging in parental alienation, you should take immediate legal action to stop this inappropriate conduct. The longer the parental alienation continues on the more difficult it is to get the child back on the right track.
Custody Lawsuits and Parental Alienation
Parental alienation can be used as a method by a litigant in a custody case to have a negative impact on a parent’s ability to obtain custody of his or her children. If you suspect this is going on bring this to your attorney’s attention. This should be dealt with immediately to stop it from destroying one parent’s relationship with the children.
If you are a victim of parental alienation or your children are being victimized, contact the law office of Schlissel DeCorpo LLP. We have been helping parents throughout the Metropolitan New York area to deal with parental alienation for more than 3 decades. We can be reached at 800-344-6431 or you can e-mail us at: Elliot@sdnylaw.com.
Changing Custody
Custody orders and judgments can be changed and/or modified. The standard for changing or modifying a custody order is to establish there has been a change in circumstances and this change in circumstances is sufficient to warrant a modification of the prior custody order. The change in circumstances must be of a substantial nature and it must be shown that modifying the custody order would be in the children’s best interests.
Jurisdictional Issues
Sometimes the prior custody order is amended by a court located in a different state. In these cases it must be established that New York is the appropriate jurisdiction for the proceeding to challenge the prior custody order. There are specific rules with regard to which state is the appropriate state to handle the new proceedings involving custody. You should contact an experienced child custody attorney to first determine whether you are bringing the custody case in the correct state and secondly as to whether you can establish a basis for a significant change of circumstances which would lead a court to modify the custody order you are challenging.
Enhanced Parenting Time vs. Children and Custody
Changing which parent is the residential custodial parent requires the party challenging the prior custody order be in a position to make a significant evidentiary presentation to the court supporting his or her allegations. However, to obtain greater parenting time (visitation) with children does not require establishing a change in circumstances up to the standard necessary for modifying a custody order. Therefore, in many situations it is more appropriate to show it is in the children’s best interest that they spend more time with the non-residential custodial parent. Both parents are usually in a position to enhance the lives of their children.
Elliot S. Schlissel is a father’s rights lawyer with more than 45 years of experience representing father’s in child custody, visitation and parenting rights cases. He can be reached at 516-561-6645, 718-350-2802 or 631-349-8262 at his firm. He can be emailed at Elliot@sdnylaw.com. Schlissel DeCorpo LLP maintains offices in Nassau, Suffolk and Queens Counties.
Father’s Rights in 2018
From an historical prospective, mothers have been given the benefit of the doubt with regard to who would 
receive custody of the children. Today, however, this is not the case. Fathers are winning more and more custody cases. The courts can no longer assume the mother is the more appropriate parent to have custody of the parties’ children. The law in New York is gender neutral. In more and more custody cases the courts are carefully weighing the children’s best interests. This has led to fathers receiving custody in a larger percentage of the litigated custody cases.
Joint Custody vs. Sole Custody
If one parent is awarded sole custody by the courts in New York they have complete authority with regard to making all significant decisions in the children’s lives. In joint custody situations both parents have access to the children and both parents are supposed to communicate and cooperate with each other regarding significant decisions concerning the children’s lives. However, even in joint custody situations one parent is the residential custodial parent and the other parent is the non-residential custodial parent. The children live with the residential custodial parent. They attend schools located near the residential custodial parent’s home. In cases of joint custody sometimes one parent is given the ability to be the tiebreaker should the parents disagree on a particular issue involving the children’s health, education and welfare.
Equal Time with the Children
Our office strives to provide fathers whether they are the sole custodial parent or in joint custody situations with the ability 
to spend as much time as is practical with their children. Fathers are a resource for their children. Children who have two loving parents develop better than children who only have limited access to one of their parents. Fathers provide children with a unique prospective to help them turn into well rounded individuals.
The law firm of Schlissel DeCorpo LLP have more than 100 years of combined legal experience in representing fathers in custody cases, support proceedings, downward modifications of child support, changes in custody proceedings and visitations proceedings. Our office offers free consultations and our phones are monitored 7 days a week. We can be reached at 516-561-6645, 718-350-2802 and 631-319-8262. We have offices in Nassau, Queens and Suffolk Counties. You can e-mail us at Elliot@sdnylaw.com.
Joint Custody Ordered by Court
In a case in Westchester County Justice Susan M. Cateci sitting in the Supreme Court divorce part held both the mother and father should have joint legal custody of the parties’ children. During the course of the matrimonial lawsuit, the mother testified on multiple occasions the father engaged in both physical and verbal abuse of her. She claimed these incidents occurred while she was pregnant and also in the presence of the parties’ two (2) children. The father denied any history of domestic violence. However, the court found the mother’s testimony was credible and the judge believed there had been a history of domestic violence between the parties to the marriage.
The Judge’s Decision
Justice Cateci found the father was a loving parent. She also found he was interested in promoting the children’s best interests and he was involved in the children’s upbringing. The judge believed he should continue to play a significant role in the children’s lives. The judge felt he should be consulted with regard to decisions effecting the children’s health and wellbeing. Judge Cateci found the mother should have the final decision making authority but ordered she consult with the father about all significant issues concerning the children. In addition he ruled the parties should use the services of a parenting coordinator.
Conclusion
Even in cases where the father has been involved in domestic violence concerning the mother, he can still be very involved in his children’s lives and have a beneficial impact on their health and general well being.
Elliot S. Schlissel is a father’s rights lawyer who has for more than 3 decades has been representing fathers in custody proceedings throughout the Metropolitan New York area. He is available for free consultations and can be reached at 800-344-6431.
