New York Family Court Keeps Jurisdiction Over A Child in Virginia

June 10, 2014 By

father's rights attorneysAn appeals court (Third Department in upstate New York) has recently held pursuant to New York Domestic Relations Law section 76-a, a Family Court located in New York State had continuing jurisdiction over a child until neither the child nor the parent of the child had a significant connection to the State of New York and there was no longer substantial evidence in New York State concerning the child’s protection.

History of the Case

Angela Lawrence and Guy Belcher had two children, a son born in 1999 and a daughter born in 2001.  They were divorced in the State of New Hampshire in the year 2005.  After the divorce, Guy Belcher moved to the State of New York.  He brought a custody case in the year 2007.  Pursuant to the decision in the custody proceeding, he received custody of his son and visitation with his daughter.  The daughter thereafter moved to Virginia to live with her mother.

Belcher eventually sought sole residential custody of his daughter in 2011.  In his petition for custody, Belcher claimed his daughter was being physically abused by her stepfather.  He also claimed the stepfather had physically abused his son while his son was visiting with his mother in Virginia.  Family Court Judge Courtenay Hall initially awarded the father temporary custody of the daughter but thereafter overruled herself.  She found the court in New York lacked jurisdiction to make any determination with regard to the case.  Guy Belcher appealed to the Appellate Division of the Third Department.

Appeals Court Decision

The appeals court held “initially, that the Family Court erroneously found, because its prior order addressed custody only with respect to the son, that the court did not have continuing exclusive jurisdiction as to the issue of custody of the daughter. ‘Child custody determination’ is defined, however, as ‘a judgment, decree, or other order of a court providing for the legal custody, physical custody, or visitation with respect to a child’.”  This is pursuant to Domestic Relations Law section 75-a.

The appeals court took the position since a New York Family Court had entered a ruling with regard to visitation in the year 2007, it continued to have exclusive jurisdiction with regard to this matter.  The court cited in its opinion, the daughter had continued to visit with her father in New York during vacations and holidays.  The court’s decision stated “the son allegedly witnessed the abuse committed upon the daughter and was himself the victim of abuse and neglect.”  “Furthermore, the father witnessed the bruising and other injuries suffered by the daughter, and possesses evidence regarding a conversation he had with the mother following the incident in which she purportedly stated that the physical abuse was ‘no big deal and well deserved’.”

Conclusion

In the end, the appeals court simply felt New York was the “more appropriate and convenient forum” to make necessary decisions with regard to this case.advocate for father's rights and custody

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Father’s Rights in 2014

May 22, 2014 By

father's rights attorneysToday more and more fathers are obtaining custody of their children. The bygone days when there was a presumption that the father was the bread winner and the mother took care of the children and should receive custody are long gone. In the State of New York, fathers have equal rights to custody of their children. In most families today, both parents work to help support their family. More and more fathers are involved with the day to day affairs of taking care of and nurturing their children. Family dynamics have changed significantly in the last decade.

Fathers Matter!

Fathers play an important role in their children’s lives. If the father seeks to have custody of his children, he should use due diligence and hire an attorney who is experienced and knowledgeable with regard to advocating on behalf of fathers. Both fathers and mothers bond with their children. Recent studies show that children who do not have a father in their lives are subject to a variety of negative effects. Some of these effects are: (1) Children who do not have guidance from their fathers have a higher school dropout rate. (2) Children raised in families without the benefit of a loving father use illegal drugs on a greater basis than children who are raised in a family that has both a father and a mother in it. (3) There is a greater percentage of children raised in a fatherless family, committing acts of domestic violence.

Fathers help their children develop traits that allow them to be successful during their life. Fathers who are prevented from having quality time for visiting with their children should fight to protect their rights. An experienced father’s rights attorney will be able to analyze a custody or visitation case and provide the father with a road map to protect his rights and achieve a greater possibility of success in the case.

Helping Fathers in Custody and Visitation Problems

Our office works with fathers regularly concerning issues regarding custody and visitation. There are many issues fathers face when litigating custody and visitation matters. There are a variety of situations that can create a negative impression of a father by the courts. Some examples of these situations are the father moving out of the house where his children reside, failing to aggressively pursue employment, failing to fight made up charges of domestic violence alleged by the mother, and failure to maintain a regular form of contact, communication and presence in their children’s lives.

Children’s Best Interests

Decisions concerning custody and visitation by judges take into consideration the children’s best interests. The father’s rights lawyers at the Law Offices of Schlissel DeCorpo are available to speak with fathers who have issues concerning their children seven days a week. Call for a free consultation at 516-561-6645, 718-350-2802 or 1-800-344-6431.experienced father's rights advocate

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Father Denied Custody – Custody Given to Wife

May 20, 2014 By

father's rights lawyerAn action for divorce was brought in Westchester County. A judge granted the plaintiff, wife, a judgment of divorce. The parties had two children from the marriage. They had settled all issues concerning who was going to pay the marital debt and any equitable distribution of marital assets. The court was faced solely with the issue of who would receive custody of the children of the parties.

Justice Linda Christopher rendered a decision that the mother was more willing to allow and encourage access, and to promote a positive relationship between the children and the father. In addition, there were allegations of domestic violence and issues with regard to the mental stability of the parties.

Father Acts Inappropriately

Justice Christopher noted in her decision the father did not allow the children to go to the mother’s place of residence until the mother obtained a court order regarding this matter. In addition, she found the father was a controlling individual. He had demeaned the mother in front of the children. In addition he had, without cause or justification, called the police on the mother and advised her she was nothing more than a nanny to his children.

Sole Custody Awarded to Mother

The court awarded the mother sole custody. However, pursuant to the custody order, the mother was obligated to enroll in and remain in a psychotherapy program to help her with her physical displays of anger which had been directed to the father.

Conclusion

Courts take seriously the issue of the residential custodial parent providing a nurturing and positive relationship between the children and the other parent. In this case, the court found the mother was more likely to take this action even though she had anger management issues.

best interest of the childrenElliot Schlissel is a father’s rights attorney. His office helps fathers obtain extensive parenting time (visitation), and custody of their children.

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Father Given Sole Legal and Physical Custody of Children: He is Allowed to Relocate Back to Texas With the Children From New York

April 28, 2014 By

helping father's win custody There was recently an interesting case before Justice Lori Sattler who sits in the Supreme Court Part in New York County. A father and a mother had each brought petitions in a post judgment custody proceeding. Each of them sought sole legal and physical custody of the parties’ two children. The father presented in his moving papers there had been problems regarding his visitation with the children, especially during weekends and holidays. He claimed these problems arose right after the wife moved from Texas to New York. The wife, who had received custody of the children from a court in Texas, moved to New York several days after entry of the judgment of divorce giving her custody by the court in Texas.

Mother Alienates the Children Against Father

The father, in his moving papers, asserted the mother had been involved in a program of parental alienation of the children against him. He also argued in his papers the mother was an unfit parent. He claimed she was incapable of taking care of the children because she was continually abusing drugs.

Mother’s Arguments

The mother alleged in her papers the father had sexually abused his daughter. However, the court after reviewing the allegations and the evidence submitted regarding these allegations determined that this was not true. Justice Sattler found the mother to be less than honest in her testimony. She found there were inconsistencies in the mother’s testimony. Justice Sattler held the mother’s testimony created questions with regard to her ability to help develop a loving relationship between the children and the father. She concluded there was a change of circumstances since the entry of the judgment of divorce in 2011 by the court in Texas. She found this change of circumstance required she reevaluate what was in the children’s best interest.

Custody Modified

Justice Sattler determined a modification of the Texas custody order was warranted. She ruled the father was to receive sole legal and physical custody. In addition, she authorized him to relocate back to Texas because this was in the children’s best interests. Justice Sattler went on, in her decision, to state the father was more capable of providing the children with a stable and appropriate living environment. He was better suited to foster a relationship between the children and their mother.

Conclusion

custody for husbandsIn this case, the court found the father was the more stable parent and it was in the children’s best interests to live with the father in another state. The writer assumes the mother’s parental alienation of the children contributed to this judge’s decision to award the father sole legal and physical custody. The author of this article has been involved in dozens of cases where mothers have failed to promote the loving relationship between the father and the children. Alienating children against one parent damages the children. It is in children’s best interest to have two loving parents and not to be participants in a war of roses between the parents.

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Why Do It Yourself Divorces Are a Bad Idea

April 21, 2014 By

father's rights lawyersThere are a number of companies advertising on the internet do it yourself divorces. These companies are usually run by paralegals or individuals with computer experience. Generally the individuals involved with these companies are not lawyers. The companies provide forms which they claim were developed by attorneys. They claim that these forms are all you need to handle your own divorce.

Do It Yourself Divorce Forms Not Appropriate in All Cases

The forms by the do it yourself divorce companies may be accepted by some courts. However, these forms do not provide a divorce specifically designed for the circumstances of you and your family. These do it yourself divorce companies do not provide legal representation or legal advice. Sometimes by utilizing these forms you can do more harm than good to your family situation. Numerous individuals who have used these pre-prepared forms have made significant mistakes that cost them money, lost custody of their children, and resulted in their being forced out of their home.

Amicable Divorce

The large number of couples using these divorce forms are generally on good terms. They use these forms with the hope of saving money. However, very simple, uncontested divorces are those which are the least expensive to hire an attorney to handle.

Protecting your assets, receiving custody and/or visitation with your children, keeping your home, are among the more serious issues that you should utilize an attorney to protect your interests regarding. There are numerous assets subject to equitable distribution in divorce cases. These assets include homes, individual retirement accounts, 401(k) plans, pension plans, 403(b) plans, businesses, professional licenses, stocks, bonds and all types of other assets. Using pre-prepared divorce forms won’t help you protect your rights to a portion of these assets.

Medical Insurance

Medical insurance can be expensive. There are specific rules in New York with regard to each spouse having availability of medical insurance in the event of a divorce. Medical insurance is also important for your children. Divorce kits won’t help you concerning this issue.

Hidden Assets

Has your spouse provided you with information with regard to all of his or her assets? You are entitled to this information. You are entitled to receive a net worth statement from your spouse disclosing all of his or her assets.

Debts are another issue in a divorce. Who is going to pay the credit card bills, the personal loans, and the car loans? The divorce laws in New York deal with the allocation of these debts. An attorney who handles divorces would be in a position to see to it that your rights are protected concerning issues involving the payment of debts.

Child Support, Spousal Maintenance, Visitation and Custody

If you have children it is extremely important to protect your children’s rights to live up to the standard of living they experienced during the course of the marriage. Custody issues and visitation issues are very complex. If your spouse gets custody of your children will she be able to move to California, New Zealand or Puerto Rico? A properly drafted settlement in divorce will see to it that your spouse cannot move the children so far away that would interfere with your visitation.

There are numerous other issues such as Social Security benefits, Medicare, Medicaid, college expenses for children, child care expenses, day camp expenses, uncovered medical, dental, orthodontia, and so on.

Elliot S. SchlisselConclusion

I hope this article has opened your eyes as to why attorneys are important in representing clients in divorces.

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Father Receives Custody of Biological Child and Non-Biological Child

March 25, 2014 By

fathers rights lawyerThe Appellate Division of the Third Department, an appeals court, recently upheld a decision of a Family Court Judge granting a father custody of his biological child and a child he was not biologically related to.

The father and the mother were married. They lived together with two children. The father was the biological father of the younger child and not biologically related to the older child. The parties entered into a separation agreement. Pursuant to the agreement, the parties agreed to have joint legal custody of the children with physical custody of the children to the mother. The father had parenting time with the children.

The mother thereafter consented to a finding of neglect regarding both children. The court at that point ordered joint physical custody of the older, non-biological child be maintained between the parties. Each party was to have custody on alternate weekends. The mother still kept the physical custody of the younger child. The father only had visitation with the younger child.

Father Seeks to Modify Court Orders

The father brought proceedings seeking to modify the visitation arrangements with regard to both of the children. In these modification petitions to the Family Court, he asked for sole custody of both of the children. The Family Court initially entered an order granting him physical custody of both children and granting parenting time to the mother. Thereafter a petition was filed by the father alleging the mother had violated the temporary visitation order of the Family Court. Thereafter the Family Court granted residential custody of both children to the father and gave the mother liberal parenting time.

The mother had appealed the last order. The appeals court held there was a sound and substantial basis for the Family Court awarding custody of the children to the father. They took this position because the father was providing a more stable home and he had shown that he was capable of taking care of both of the children’s needs.

Conclusion

help fathers fight for custody It is possible for fathers to gain custody of both children they are biologically related to and children they are not biologically related to!

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Mother Loses Custody: She Interfered with Father’s Visitation

December 4, 2013 By

father's rights lawyersIn a recent decision, the Appellate Division of the Third Department (an upstate Appeals Court) found a mother who “clearly attempted to thwart and frustrate the father’s visitation” lost custody of her child. This case involves a mother who is a graduate of Cornell Law School, and a father who is an assistant professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Cornell University.

The mother and father were married for a brief period of time and had a child. A decision was initially made by the trial court judge giving the father custody because the mother had violated a joint custody separation agreement that had been incorporated into a Judgment of Divorce. This agreement had given the mother physical custody of the child and the father parenting time (visitation with the child). The agreement specifically prohibited either the mother or the father from relocating without the consent of the other party or the court.

Mother Relocates

Shortly after entering into the joint custody separation agreement, the mother accepted a job in New Jersey. She relocated with her son over the father’s objections. After a court hearing, the Supreme Court Judge awarded sole custody of the parties’ son, Ethan, to the father.

The court in its decision stressed a party seeking to relocate has the burden of showing the relocation is in the child’s best interest. The mother claimed she took the only job she had been offered. This had forced her to relocate. The Court in its decision stated, “the record amply supports the conclusion that the mother was not entirely willing to include the father in decisions regarding the child.” The mother had acted hostile to the father when the parties exchanged the child.

Conclusion

Relocating a child is not as simple as most parents believe it is. The court will take into consideration the impact the relocation of a child will have on the parenting time (visitation with the child) of the other parent. When moving, the residential custodial parent should obtain consent of the other parent or bring an application to the Family Court or the Supreme Court and obtain a Court Order authorizing the relocation.

helping fathers with custody issuesElliot S. Schlissel is a father’s rights attorney representing fathers in child custody cases, regarding visitation problems and parenting time issues throughout the metropolitan New York area.

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Enforcing Rights of New Fathers

November 20, 2013 By

father's rights lawyerParental leave for the birth of new children should be for both mothers and fathers. Presently birth mothers are entitled to ten weeks of paid vacation leave upon giving birth. When men and women adopt children, both the man and the woman are entitled to parental leave. Unfortunately, if you are the biological father of the child, you are only entitled to two weeks of parental leave.

Biological Fathers Are Second Class Citizens

At a time when men and women have equal rights to custody and equal rights to parenting time (visitation with their children), it is time men have equal rights also to parental leave when they are fortunate enough to have child come into this world. Most employers do not provide parental leave for new fathers. In families where both the mother and father work, sometimes it is more practical for the father to stay home and take care of the newborn child than the mother. Currently there are no federal laws that prohibit discrimination against fathers who have the responsibilities of taking care of young children. Should it be considered sex discrimination if an employer provides paid leave for a mother to take care of a newborn child but doesn’t provide for paid leave for a father in the same situation?

Men Raising Children

Men taking responsibility to help raise a newborn child are acting outside of the normal gender roles for men and women. When a man takes time off from work to spend time with a newborn child it helps him bond with the child. To make a woman equal to a man in the workplace requires the man also be equal to the woman with regard to benefits and responsibilities.

advocating new father's rightsElliot S. Schlissel, Esq., is a father’s rights attorney. He has represented fathers for more than 45 years with regard to protecting father’s rights in divorces, custody and parenting time issues.

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Joint Custody Does Not Relieve Both Parents From Paying Child Support

November 15, 2013 By

father's rights lawyerWhere the parents have joint or shared custody, involving each of the parents having equal time with the children, both parents are not relieved of their obligation to pay child support. Most parenting plans designate one parent as the primary residential custodial parent. This is necessary especially in Nassau and Suffolk Counties on Long Island. School districts will look to parenting plans and divorce settlement agreements to establish the primary residential location of the child. The reason for this is that school district want to know who will be responsible for providing schooling for the child or children.

Parent With Greater Income Pays Child Support

In the case of Bast v. Rostoff, the New York State Court of Appeals in 1998, dealt with the issue of an equally shared custody arrangement and obligations to pay child support. In this case both parents requested the court to have the other parent pay them child support. The Court of Appeals (the highest Court in New York State) ruled in shared custody situations, the parent with the greater earned income is by the very nature of earning more money than the other parent deemed to be the non-custodial parent for child support purposes. This causes the parent with the greater income to pay child support payments to the parent with the lesser income. This is an example of the expression “no good deed goes unpunished.” Work hard, get educated, get a good job, earn more money than your spouse, and even if you have 50% of the visitation you still have to pay child support!

custody and child support advocates for fathersThe father’s rights lawyers at the Law Office of Elliot S. Schlissel, represent fathers throughout the metropolitan New York area with regard to issues involving child support, custody and divorce.

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Fathers Have the Same Rights in Custody Matters as Mothers

November 8, 2013 By

father's rights attorneysThe law in New York is gender neutral. Fathers currently have the same rights to have custody of their children as mothers, in Family Court custody proceedings as well as in the Supreme Court in divorce proceedings. For fathers to win custody cases they must carefully prepare their cases to assert their father’s rights. The area of father’s rights law is a growing area of the law in many states. Fathers who want to have an active role in their children’s lives need to be prepared to fight for their father’s rights. Father’s rights lawyers have an expertise in the presentation of custody cases on behalf of fathers.

Tender Years Doctrine

One of the doctrines utilized in the past that prevented fathers from obtaining custody of young children was the Tender Years Doctrine. This doctrine advocated mothers were better suited to provide the love and care for young children. The laws that currently exist in the State of New York are gender neutral. The law no longer recognizes mothers have any superior right to have custody of a child at any age. The standard as to who should receive custody of the child is based on the child’s best interest.

In making decisions in custody cases, courts review many relevant factors. They base their decision on what is in the best overall interest of the child. Although mothers still win more custody cases than fathers, fathers have made significant inroads in recent years in obtaining custody of children.

Joint Custody

Joint custody arrangements can be negotiated between the attorneys for the father and the mother. Joint custody arrangements involve the sharing by both parents of duties with regard to the raising of the children. Joint custody allows the children to be close with both parents and have the love and affection of both a father and a mother on a regular basis.

Parenting Time

The more modern term for visitation with children is referred to as parenting time. Today, parenting time plans (which used to be called visitation agreements) can be worked out to set up mutually agreeable visitation schedules that take into account the employment of both the father and mother, the needs of the children to attend school, see doctors and dentists, and the transportation issues involving the children participating in extra curricular activities in after school programs. Parenting schedules can be flexible to allow the parents to work out last minute changes in their employment schedules and unforeseen matters that prevent them from utilizing their time with the children.

Child Support

The parent who receives custody of the child is entitled to receive child support from the non-custodial parent. Even in joint custody situations, there is a residential custodial parent designated in the parenting agreement. The non-residential custodial parent must pay child support to the residential custodial parent.

Conclusion

The best way to evaluate your situation is to contact an attorney that handles father’s rights cases to discuss the feasibility of your goals and to obtain a road map as to how to achieve those goals.advocate for fathers

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