Custody Litigation

October 1, 2014 By

helping father's win custodyIn custody litigation the court must determine which parent would be better at taking care of the best interests of the child or children. Best interests of the child or children involves which parent can provide a life situation where the child will thrive and grow emotionally, intellectually, spiritually and physically. The large majority of custody issues are resolved out of court in custody agreements between the parties. However a small number of custody matters require a judge to make a decision as to which parent would be better suited to being the residential custodial parent of the child.

Preparing for Custody Litigation

Each litigant in a custody case will seek to prove it is in the child’s best interest for the child to reside with them. In order to accomplish this goal, a litigant in a custody case should obtain documentation supporting his or her claims. This documentation should show the involvement of that parent in the child’s medical needs, school, work, after school activities, family and social events, and other issues which would lead a judge to believe that parent was the primary, caring individual involved with raising the child and promoting the child’s best interests. A parent seeking custody should show his or her residence provides appropriate accommodations for the child, is within a reasonable distance of the child’s school, and the living environment the child would be exposed to is conducive to raising a child. Photographs of the place the child will live, his room, the accommodations of the home should be available to present to the court.

Who The Child Seeks to Live With

In the State of New York, in custody battles, an attorney is appointed to represent the child. The attorney for the child is supposed to meet with the child and take into consideration the child’s desires as to who he or she would seek to live with. It is this author’s opinion the child’s position as to who should be the residential custodial parent should only be considered with mature children. Unfortunately, this is not the law in New York. I have had numerous cases where attorneys for a child have come into court and advised the court who the 4 or 5 year old they interviewed would seek to live with. 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 year olds often change their minds, sometimes 3 or 4 times during a 15 minute span.

Support System

Parents seeking custody of a child should be able to make a presentation to the court who will be taking care of the child, supervising the child, and meeting the child’s needs 7 days a week. If the parent works, he or she must present to the court a support system which would nurture the child, protect the child, and properly supervise the child when that parent is unavailable due to employment or other reasons.

The More Available Parent

Some parents have employment situations which are more flexible than others. The parent with the more flexible position can make a presentation to the judge that he or she would be available to be there for the child during school programs, after school activities, and help with homework. Judges do take a parent’s availability to nurture a child into consideration when custody issues are presented to them.

Elliot Schlissel is a father’s rights lawyer practicing law within the Metropolitan New York area for more than 35 years. father's rights advocate on Long Island

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Custody Awarded to Non-Biological Parent

September 29, 2014 By

Please view today’s blog video by clicking on the following link:

Elliot S. Schlissel is a father’s rights attorney.  He can be reached at 1-800-344-6431 or by email at schlissel.law@att.net.

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The Bad Tactics Game Plan Utilized Against Fathers

September 25, 2014 By

father's rights lawyerThere are a number of improper, inappropriate vile tactics that are used to prevent a father from having a relationship with his children.

Sexual Abuse

The most damaging false allegation that can be made against a father is that he is sexually abusing his children.  This false allegation, even if untrue, causes courts to take protective action regarding the children.  Sometimes these allegations are the result of mandatory reporters such as teachers, doctors, or Child Protective Service workers overreacting and/or misinterpreting what is happening in a child’s life.  Fathers who bathe their children, dress their children, or spend time hugging their children on a chair or in a bed can be subject to these inappropriate, nasty false allegations.

Domestic Violence

Corporal punishment is no longer considered an appropriate method of disciplining children in the United States.  Fathers in Family Court proceedings and in divorce proceedings accused of utilizing corporal punishment to help guide their children can be kept away from their children by orders of protection brought on by proceedings from child protective services.  In the five boroughs of the City of New York the Administration for Child Services (hereinafter referred to as “ACS”) investigates child abuse allegations.  On Long Island and Westchester counties in the Metropolitan New York area, child abuse allegations are investigated by Child Protective Services (hereinafter referred to as “CPS”).  When an order of protection is issued against a father it can prevent him from having any contact in person, on the phone, texting or emailing with his children.  It can completely cut a father off from having contact with his children.

Relocation

Technically, the residential custodial parent needs either an agreement between the parties in writing So Ordered by a court, or a court order authorizing them to move away.  However, if the mother relocates with the children and the father acquiesces and doesn’t take legal action within a relatively short period of time, the move can become the new normal.  If the father lives in Queens and the mother moves to Florida it is going to be a lot harder for him to visit with his children.

Protecting Father’s Rights

Fathers who believe the mother is acting inappropriately with regard to their children and/or interfering with their relationship with the children need to take aggressive legal action.  If you find yourself in a situation of this nature, you should contact an attorney familiar with father’s rights issues.  Protecting your rights early on is the best way to help maintain your relationship with your children.father's rights advocate

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Custody Litigation

September 17, 2014 By

father's rights lawyerIn custody litigation the court must determine which parent would be better at taking care of the best interests of the child or children. Best interests of the child or children involves which parent can provide a life situation where the child will thrive and grow emotionally, intellectually, spiritually and physically. The large majority of custody issues are resolved out of court in custody agreements between the parties. However a small number of custody matters require a judge to make a decision as to which parent would be better suited to being the residential custodial parent of the child.

Preparing for Custody Litigation

Each litigant in a custody case will seek to prove it is in the child’s best interest for the child to reside with them. In order to accomplish this goal, a litigant in a custody case should obtain documentation supporting his or her claims. This documentation should show the involvement of that parent in the child’s medical needs, school, work, after school activities, family and social events, and other issues which would lead a judge to believe that parent was the primary, caring individual involved with raising the child and promoting the child’s best interests. A parent seeking custody should show his or her residence provides appropriate accommodations for the child, is within a reasonable distance of the child’s school, and the living environment the child would be exposed to is conducive to raising a child. Photographs of the place the child will live, his room, the accommodations of the home should be available to present to the court.

Who The Child Seeks to Live With

In the State of New York, in custody battles, an attorney is appointed to represent the child. The attorney for the child is supposed to meet with the child and take into consideration the child’s desires as to who he or she would seek to live with. It is this author’s opinion the child’s position as to who should be the residential custodial parent should only be considered with mature children. Unfortunately, this is not the law in New York. I have had numerous cases where attorneys for a child have come into court and advised the court who the 4 or 5 year old they interviewed would seek to live with. 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 year olds often change their minds. Sometimes 3 or 4 times during a 15 minute span.

Support System

Parents seeking custody of a child should be able to make a presentation to the court who will be taking care of the child, supervising the child, and meeting the child’s needs 7 days a week. If the parent works, he or she must present to the court a support system which would nurture the child, protect the child, and properly supervise the child when that parent is unavailable due to employment or other reasons.

The More Available Parent

Some parents have employment situations which are more flexible than others. The parent with the more flexible position can make a presentation to the judge that he or she would be available to be there for the child during school programs, after school activities, and help with homework. Judges do take a parent’s availability to nurture a child into consideration when custody issues are presented to them.

Elliot Schlissel is a father’s rights lawyer practicing law within the Metropolitan New York area for more than 35 years.Child custody attorney on Long Island

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Custody Change from Mother to Father: Court States This Was The Best Interest of the Child

September 10, 2014 By

helping father's win custodySupreme Court Justice John Colangelo sitting in Westchester County recently changed custody from a mother to a father. A post judgment divorce action was initiated involving a 9 year old child.

History of the Case

The mother and father were divorced in 2009. In 2010, the mother had brought a Family Court proceeding for the purpose of modifying the parenting schedule which was initially set forth in the 2009 Family Court Order. The court at that time found the facts required a change in custody. The court found it was in the child’s best interest custody be changed from the mother to the father. The father was thereafter given full legal custody and final decision making. He was also designated as the primary custodial parent. The court found the mother was incapable of promoting a meaningful relationship between the child and his father.

 

The Actions of the Mother

While the mother had physical custody of the child she did everything in her power to prevent the father from having a relationship with his son. She tried to totally separate the two. The court found her responsibility was to encourage a healthy relationship between the father and son and she did the opposite. The court therefore changed custody.

father's rights on Long Island

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Father Awarded Custody by Court

September 8, 2014 By

Elliot S. Schlissel is a father’s rights attorney.  He can be reached at 1-800-344-6431, or by email to schlissel.law@att.net

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Father Given Sole Custody Due To Mother’s Interference With His Visitation Rights

September 5, 2014 By

father's rights lawyerThe Appellate Division of the Third Department, an appeals court in Upstate New York, recently rendered a decision affirming changing custody from the mother to the father based on the mother’s interference with the father’s rights to visit with the parties’ child.

The parties had initially entered into an agreement whereby the mother was given an award of sole custody. In addition, she was given a one year stay away order of protection against the father.

Father Files Petitions

The father filed a violation petition and custody petition in the Family Court. He alleged the mother had been continually interfering with his parenting time with the parties’ child. There were hearings in the Family Court. The Family Court judge found the mother had not complied with the visitation provisions in the court’s custody orders. The Family Court ordered the custody changed from the mother to the father. The father was given sole custody of the parties’ child. The mother filed an appeal.

The Decision on Appeal

The Appeals Court unanimously affirmed the changing of the custody of the child from the mother to the father. The Appeals Court found the mother had frequently violated the terms and her obligations under the prior court orders requiring her to cooperate with regard to promoting the relationship between the father and child and by refusing to give him his parenting time with the child. Instead of complying with the court orders for long periods of time, the mother simply refused to give the father visitation with the child. The mother intentionally violated court orders on a regular basis.

The Appeals panel took into consideration the fact the mother’s fitness to care for the child had deteriorated. In the end, the appeals court found it was in the child’s best interest to give the father sole custody.custody assistance for father's on Long Island

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Court Orders Change in Custody Due To Mother Interfering With Father’s Visitation

August 22, 2014 By

custody and visitation attorney on Long IslandThere was litigation in the Family Court between a father and a mother. The father alleged the mother had acted in an obstreperous manner, had interfered with his visitation with the parties’ children in violation of court orders and had created a situation which made it extremely difficult for the father to have visitation. The father claimed the mother’s disruptive, antagonistic behavior was not in the children’s best interest and was having a negative impact on the parties’ child.

A trial was held in the Family Court. The mother had declined to have an attorney and had represented herself during these proceedings. At the end of the Family Court trial, the Family Court Judge found there had been a change in circumstances to the extent a change in custody was warranted due to mother’s interference with father’s visitation rights. The mother appealed this proceeding.

Appellate Court Decision

The Appellate Division for the Third Department (an appeals court) upheld the Family Court’s order finding the mother in contempt and changing custody to the father. The Appeals Court found the mother had violated a prior court order with regard to the father’s visitation rights. The court also found the transfer of sole custody of the child to the father was indicated in the circumstances due to the mother’s contentious behavior. The Court found the mother was aware of the terms of the Family Court order giving the father visitation and she intentionally refused to comply with this court order.

The mother had argued she was denied her right to counsel due to the fact she represented herself. However, the appellate court found she was given the opportunity to retain an attorney and declined to do so. The court also found the mother had engaged in obstructionist behavior during the course of the Family Court trial and her responses to questions were evasive.

The appellate court affirmed the decision of the Family Court giving the father sole custody.

Conclusion

This is a major victory for father’s rights! A mother’s obligations when she is the residential custodial parent is to promote a loving, warm relationship between the children and the father. Interference with a father’s visitation rights is appropriate grounds to change custody from the mother to the father.father's rights advocate and custody modification attorney

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Grandparents and Obtaining Visitation With Grandchildren

August 19, 2014 By

Most grandparents seek to have warm, loving relationships with their grandchildren. However, sometimes the parents themselves don’t get along. In other situations, one or both of the parents have a falling out with the grandparents and punish them by preventing the grandchildren from seeing them.

Filing A Lawsuit to Compel Grandparents’ Visitation

In the year 2000, the United States Supreme Court, in a case called Troxel v. Granville, dealt with a case involving grandparents’ rights in the State of Washington. The grandparents brought suit for visitation with their grandchildren. In this case the United States Supreme Court held that parents “[have a] fundamental right to make decisions concerning the care, custody, and control of their children.” This has been interpreted as to whether a grandparent will be able to see his grandchildren is solely up to the parents.

New York Law On Grandparents’ Visitation

New York is in the forefront of states in the country with regard to granting grandparents visitation rights. The first step is for the grandparents to bring a grandparents’ visitation rights proceeding in the Family Court in the county in which the child or children are located. The grandparents can allege various arguments to establish it would be in the child or children’s best interests that the grandparents receive visitation with them. Some of the arguments which can be made by grandparents concerning this issue are as follows:

  • The grandparents have previously acted in a capacity as custodial parents for the grandchildren.
  • The grandparents have had a long and loving relationship with the grandchildren over a significant period of time. Depriving them from interacting with their grandparents will have a negative impact on the grandchildren.
  • One or both of the parents of the child or children are lacking in the basic ability to deal with issues of the grandchildren. The grandparents have the capacity to deal with these issues.
  • In some cases, grandparents can even show it will be harmful to the grandchildren to deprive them of maintaining the existing relationship with their grandparents.

Grandparents’ Rights in Divorces

When the parents of children get divorced, it is possible to include in the settlement agreement statements giving access to the children to the grandparents. Grandparents’ visitation rights therefore can be specifically built into separation agreements or settlement agreements in divorce proceedings.

Conclusion

Grandparents are unique and they don’t live forever. The relationship between grandparents and their grandchildren can have a significant affirmative impact on their grandchildren’s lives. The love and devotion grandparents have for their grandchildren, coupled with their sense of worldliness, is not something to be underestimated. Courts should be extremely reasonable in granting grandparents access to their grandchildren.grandparents' rights advocate in Metropolitan New York

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Obtaining Custody for Children Born to Unmarried Fathers

August 14, 2014 By

father's rights lawyer in New YorkPaternity Proceeding

In the State of New York, a father can sign an acknowledgment of paternity at the time a child is born. The acknowledgment of paternity specifically states that I am the father of this child. If an acknowledgment of paternity isn’t executed by the father at the time of the child’s birth, the first step in obtaining visitation rights or custody is to file a paternity proceeding.

The Paternity Proceeding

The paternity proceeding is fast and simple if the mother simply says, yes he is the father. However, if the mother disputes the fact he is the father or there is a question in her mind as to who the father is, the court in New York will order DNA testing to ascertain whether this man is actually the father of the child.

Custody Petitions and Visitation Petitions

Once paternity is established, the next step is to file an application for custody or in the alternative for visitation with the child. These petitions are filed in the Family Court in the county where the child is located. This petition can ask for sole custody, joint custody, or just simply for visitation. After the petition is filed, the court will make arrangements to serve the child’s mother. The two of you will then have to appear in court on the return date of the petition.

Establishing That You Are The Superior Custodial Parent

If you seek custody of your child, you must show it is in the child’s best interest you be named the residential custodial parent. In addition, you can show why the mother should not have custody of her child. Issues the mother has with drug abuse, child abuse, child neglect, prior history of drug abuse, criminal records, and associating with inappropriate and/or violent individuals can be the basis for your asking for custody of your child.

Visitation With Your Child

If you simply seek visitation with your child, and you have no negative history which would prevent you from having visitation rights, the usual visitation regimen given by the Family Courts in New York is every other holiday, every other weekend, and one dinner during the week. Also, fathers are given access to the child on Father’s Day and the child’s birthday. In addition, the child should be entitled to telephone and Skype contact with the father on a regular basis.

Conclusion

Children have two parents. They should have relationships with both parents. This helps them grow up to be well meaning, well balanced adults.father's rights advocate on Long Island

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