There was a time in New York when there was the presumption the mother was going to get custody of the children. That is not the case in 2018 in the State of New York. Fathers have the same rights as mothers to obtain custody of their children. In most families both the father and the mother work today. The days of daddy working and mommy staying home and raising the kids does not represent the majority of families. In some cases the stay at home parent is the father, not the mother. The changes in family dynamics have made the gender neutral law in the State of New York regarding custody issue more practical and creates greater possibilities for fathers to obtain custody of their children.
Fathers’ Impact on their Children’s Lives
Children who are raised without fathers have a greater possibility of using illegal drugs, dropping out of school and of committing domestic violence assaults. Fathers can have a significant affirmative impact on their children’s ability to succeed in life and become productive members of society.
Helping Fathers be Successful in Custody Disputes
For more than 45 years our law office has been representing fathers in custody disputes. There are a number of mistakes some fathers make which have a negative impact on court proceedings to obtain custody. Among these mistakes are: the father moving out of the home where the children reside; fathers maintaining their residence in a dirty, messy manner; failure of fathers to hold steady jobs and have steady incomes; and most significantly the failure of fathers to fight phony orders of protection cases initiated by the children’s mother.
Children’s Best Interests
The standard used by the courts in New York to determine issues involving custody and visitation are what is in the children’s best interests. It is generally in the children’s best interests to have loving relationships with both parents. However, if one parent prevents the other parent from having a relationship with the children, this can be shown to the judge handling the case. Fathers who anticipate a custody or visitation dispute should retain counsel as early as possible. There are a number of actions fathers can take to enhance the possibility they will obtain extensive visitation or custody of their children.
Our law office has been representing fathers in custody and visitation cases for more than 45 years. We maintain offices in Nassau, Suffolk and Queens Counties and can be reached at the following phone numbers 7 days a week: 516-561-6645, 613-319-8262 and 718-350-2802. You can e-mail me at: Elliot@sdnylaw.com.
