Fathers in New York have Equal Rights to Custody of Their Children

May 29, 2026 By

Fathers in New York have Equal Rights to Custody of Their ChildrenBoth parents are encouraged in divorce cases to remain active in their children’s lives. Each of them should facilitate the equal rights of the other parent regarding issues concerning child custody, visitation and decision making.

The Secondary Parent

Sometimes the fathers are looked at as the secondary parent and not given active roles in their children’s lives. Fathers’ legal standing should be established early, especially in situations where the parents are not married.

Parents Plans

Parenting plans should be established in custody matters detailing time schedules, parental responsibilities and how decision-making authority will be resolved. Fathers need to be pro-active to ensure their rights are respected and acknowledged. A consultation with a father’s rights lawyer can provide fathers with the necessary tools to effectively negotiate with the other parent, retain their relationship with their children and see to it that their rights are protected.

Equal Rights to Custody

Fathers in the State of New York have equal rights to custody and parenting time to maintain relationships with their children. If you find yourself in a situation where the other parent is not promoting your interest in the children’s lives or bad mouthing you to the children this can have a negative impact on your relationship with your children. Consulting with a father’s rights attorney may help you understand what your remedies and methods of dealing with this situation are.

schlissel-headshotElliot 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.

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Custody Issues

April 27, 2026 By

Custody IssuesWomen today have equal opportunities in the workplace. In many families both mothers and fathers, pursue careers. Fathers today have larger roles in their children’s lives and in their home environment than in previous generations.

Child Custody and Father’s Rights Issues

Children have 2 parents. Each of them can seek custody of their children. Courts have difficulty in making decisions as to who is the superior custodial parent. In situations where fathers are not married to the mothers, it is even more complicated than when the parties are married. In previous generations father’s rights were ignored. Today fathers have equal rights for custody of their children. New York Courts today determine which parent receives custody based on what is in the child’s or children’s best interests. Unfortunately, fathers are sometimes in the Family Court considered to be second thoughts in custody cases situations.

Child Custody and Visitation

Child custody arrangements should be set up in a manner that magnifies a father’s life situation with his child or children. Even if the father does not seek to be primary residential custodial parent, it is often in the father’s best interests to have a joint custody situation with regard to the parties’ child or children. Fathers should be entitled to spend time with their child or children to enrich their child’s or children’s lives. The child’s or children’s happiness and well being sometimes will depend on the outcome of child custody cases. It is therefore important for fathers to choose aggressive knowledgeable attorneys when they seek custody or liberal visitation with their child or children.

schlissel-headshotElliot 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.

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Family Law Custody and Parenting Rights

October 31, 2024 By

Family Law Custody and Parenting RightsEach parent plays an important role in their children’s lives. This takes place until children have reached an age where they are fully independent of parents for support, care, intellectual development and ethical issues for their children. Children form bonds with their parents in their early years. When a custody dispute arises, it impacts on the bonds the parents have with their children.

Traditional Families

In traditional families the father earned the income and the mother raised the children. Although some families still operate in this manner, it is generally not the case in today’s society. The father has an equal role in raising their children. This is true whether the parents are married at the time of the children’s birth, or the children are born out of wedlock.

Custody Cases

God set up children in a manner that they want to love both of their parents and have relationships with both of their parents. Custody cases should not proceed in a manner that alienates the children from the parent the children do not live with.

It is unfortunate that some custody cases end up in bitter litigation. Children should not be used as pawns in custody cases. This often results in the children being the real victims in the custody cases.

schlissel-headshotElliot 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.

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Video : Joint Custody Given To Parents

May 18, 2023 By

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REMOTE LEARNING ISSUES, NOT BASIS FOR CHANGE IN CUSTODY

April 3, 2023 By

Fathers’ rightsIn 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!

schlissel-headshotElliot 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.

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Video : Joint Custody Given To Parents

February 7, 2023 By

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Joint Custody Given To Parents

June 23, 2022 By

Joint Custody Given To ParentsIn 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.

schlissel-headshotElliot 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.

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Sexual Abuse Allegations and Custody Issues.

April 24, 2022 By

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.

schlissel-headshotElliot 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.

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Parental Alienation

November 1, 2018 By

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.

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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.

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Changing Custody

October 26, 2018 By

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.

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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.

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