Father Seeks to Provide Child Support In the Form of Eggs, Produce and Vegetables

August 27, 2014 By

In a case from Upstate New York, Justice Robert Muller sitting in Essex County, New York, Supreme Court had a new and interesting argument presented to him. The case involved a wife who had left the marital residence with the parties’ three children. Two other children of the parties continued to reside with the father.

Custody Issues

Justice Muller was presented with custody issues within the confines of a divorce case. The mother wanted child support for the children living with her and spousal maintenance (alimony). There were arguments made between the husband and the wife with regard to how much each party was earning. Eventually the court ruled the husband should pay the wife temporary maintenance in the sum of $370 per month.

Father Lives on a Farm

The husband advised the court there was a farm located on the land where the marital residence was located. He sought to have the maintenance paid to the wife in the form of meat, eggs, and vegetables from the farm. The father requested the court allow him to pay the child support and maintenance with regard to the various items grown or maintained on the farm.

Judge Robert Muller found this to be an interesting argument. However, the attorney for the father was unable to produce any precedent which authorized one party to pay maintenance and child support payments with food instead of money. The father’s request to pay the child support payments with food was denied.

Conclusion

For those of us who live in the Metropolitan New York area, this seems like a humorous case. However, in Upstate New York, in rural communities, where cash flow on farms can be difficult to obtain, the argument of getting credit for providing food, eggs, produce, meat and vegetables to a spouse to allow her to feed her children, is an interesting argument. Although I don’t believe the entire child support payment should be allowed to be made in food, it is not inconceivable a court in Upstate New York might someday allow child support payments to be made, with regard to parties living on a farm, with a portion of the food, produce and meat raised on the farm.

Elliot Schlissel is a father’s rights attorney. He represents fathers in divorces, custody and child support proceedings. father's rights advocate on Long Island

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Judge Reduces Wife’s Equitable Distribution Due to Bad Behavior

August 4, 2014 By

father's rights lawyer on long islandThis is a story about an acrimonious divorce between two lawyers, Ira Schacter and Janice Schacter. Ira was a partner at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, a prestigious Manhattan law firm. Janice had gone to law school and worked as an associate at a law firm that handled personal injury cases. She had stopped practicing law after her daughter was born.

The Case

The case was presented before Manhattan Supreme Court Judge, Laura Drager. In discussing the case, she referred to it as “one of the most contentious litigations this court has ever presided over.” Judge Drager took into consideration Janice’s bad behavior and awarded her only 17% of Mr. Schacter’s valuable partnership at the Cadwalader law firm. Judge Drager stated in her decision “in essence the wife chose to bite the hand that fed her. Although the court recognizes that the wife feels she was badly treated by the husband, her repeated attacks against him have played a part in a diminishing of his income.”

The attorneys for Mr. Schacter argued his wife’s conduct during the course of the divorce “has so interfered with his ability to retain clients that she actively caused the value of his partnership interest to decline.”

ACS Claims

During the course of their litigation, Ira was the subject of seven separate investigations by the Administration for Children’s Services. ACS investigators visited his home more than 100 times. Each time they investigated him, they found the allegations made by his wife against him were unfounded.

Judge Drager found Janice had been involved in a number of instances creating negative publicity for her husband. She had regularly posted negative information with regard to her husband on websites.

Although Judge Drager only gave the wife 17% of the value of Mr. Schacter’s partnership, the Judge valued the partnership at $4,170,000. Therefore Ms. Schacter’s 17% share was $855,000. In addition, Mr. Schacter paid his wife’s attorneys’ approximately $460,000 and paid $70,000 in the wife’s expert fees. Mrs. Schacter also received a share of the parties’ $4.1 million house located in the Hamptons, a portion of the $4.4 million townhouse in the city, and equitable distribution of Mr. Schacter’s retirement accounts, cars, and other assets.

Conclusion

The judge’s comments about Mrs. Schacter who bit the hand that fed her says it all!divorce attorney for fathers

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Wife Tries to Set Aside a Prenuptial Agreement

June 25, 2014 By

A husband and wife entered into a prenuptial agreement several weeks prior to their marriage. The wife has brought a proceeding to set aside the prenuptial agreement based on coercion and duress. In her moving papers, she advised the court she trusted her husband and signed the agreement because he told her to do so. She also claimed she didn’t understand what she signed because no one explained the agreement to her. In addition, she claimed she could not read or write in the English language well enough to understand the legalese contained in the prenuptial agreement.

Wife Represented by Counsel

The attorney for the husband argued the wife had misrepresented what transpired. To start with, she was represented by an attorney of her choosing. Her attorney testified at a hearing that if he had felt the wife did not understand the agreement or understand him, he would have hired an interpreter. All of his negotiations and discussions with her were in the English language. He had no reason to believe she did not understand him when they were talking together. And he believed she understood the agreement that was executed.

The Court’s Decision

Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey Sunshine sitting in a divorce part in Kings County found the wife’s allegations that she did not understand English, “patently incredible.” He stated in his decision she obtained a degree in English while living in Russia. She taught Russians to speak English while living in Russia and also taught Russians to speak English while living in the United States. The wife had executed the agreement at its end. She had sufficient opportunity to meet with her attorney. There was no evidence she was defrauded into signing the prenuptial agreement or duress was used in motivating her to execute the prenuptial agreement. Justice Sunshine found no reason to set aside the prenuptial agreement.

Conclusion

This is an example of a wife trying to convince a court to set aside a prenuptial agreement based on nonsensical arguments. The purpose of prenuptial agreements is to lock in the parties’ financial responsibilities in order to avoid litigation at the time of separation or the death of one of the parties. In this case, it looks like the wife decided she was not satisfied with what she was getting in the prenuptial agreement so she took a shot at setting it aside. Unfortunately for her she had no valid reason to set aside the prenuptial agreement.assistance for fathers in divorce litigation

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Separation Agreement Upheld: Husband’s Request To Set It Aside Denied

June 18, 2014 By

father's rights attorneysA husband and wife entered into a separation agreement. The separation agreement dealt with issues concerning custody, parenting time, and the parties’ finances. The agreement specifically provided during the period of time the parties were legally separated they would continue to deal with their finances as they had in the past while they were married. Pursuant to this portion of the agreement, both parties were to deposit their wages into a joint bank account at HSBC.

Husband Fails to Comply With Agreement

The husband stopped depositing his earnings into the bank account. The wife brought a proceeding to enforce the parties’ separation agreement and cause the husband to continue depositing his income into the joint HSBC account. The husband took the position the separation agreement should be declared invalid and he should not be responsible for depositing his income into the HSBC joint account.

Justice Jeffrey Goodstein sitting in the Supreme Court Part in Nassau County found the husband had breached the terms of the agreement and the wife had not. He granted the application from the wife to cause the husband to deposit all of his income for the years 2012 and 2013 into the joint bank account. In addition, he ordered both the husband and the wife to provide each other with a detailed accounting of the use of the funds which were deposited into the joint HSBC account. Judge Goodstein denied the husband’s application to set aside the separation agreement.

Conclusion

Let’s start with the fact that if you are getting legally separated, you shouldn’t be sharing a joint bank account. You should each have separate bank accounts. This seems to be a very poorly drafted separation agreement. In the end, if you enter into a validly executed separation agreement, a court will most likely force you to live up to its terms.

Husbands and fathers should be careful as to what they sign!

Elliot S. Schlissel is a father’s rights lawyer. He has been representing fathers for more than 45 years.custody and parenting rights advocates for fathers

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Using Forensic Psychologists As Experts In Custody Cases

May 30, 2014 By

father's rights lawyerIn a custody case, each parent seeks to prove to the court that it is in the child’s best interest that they receive residential custody of the children. To accomplish this goal, evidence must be submitted establishing that the parent advocating for custody is actually the parent that would provide a better, nurturing life situation for the children.

How is this done? One of the ways of establishing one parent being a better parent or having better skills to raise the children is to cause both parents to be evaluated by a forensic expert with the hope each parent’s expert comes down on their side for custody. It is important to utilize a forensic expert to avoid each of the parents telling the judge why he or she is the better parent. Although this can provide the judge with some material that would enable him or her to make a decision, it is generally not sufficient. A forensic expert’s testimony can back up a litigant’s arguments and statements, they would be the parent to enhance the children’s lives and therefore they should be awarded residential custody of the children by the court.

How Do Forensic Experts Operate?

The forensic psychologist will usually have a series of interviews with each of the parents. In addition, the forensic psychologist will interview the children separately and usually in the custody of each of the parents. The forensic psychologist will also have the parents take a variety of psychological tests. In addition, the expert will look into issues as to whether the parents have drug or alcohol problems, have a history of abuse or neglect, and investigate other issues with regard to the parent’s abilities to raise the children. In addition, the forensic experts will usually interview any third parties who reside with each of the parents. The forensic expert seeks to observe each parent’s interaction with the children during their interviews while the child is present. Forensic experts will also review court records and other information related to the case. In some situations, a forensic expert will review school records and speak to the children’s teachers.

Custody Decisions

The forensic expert makes recommendations to the judge handling the custody case. The judge, based on evidence submitted in court, the testimony of the parties and third parties, and the report submitted by the forensic expert renders a decision as to who should be the residential custodial parent of the children. The basis of the court’s decision is what would be in the best interests of the children. Courts look into the quality of the home environment and the level of parental guidance each parent can provide for the children. Courts also look into each parent’s ability to provide for the children’s emotional, intellectual, financial and developmental needs. Courts also take into consideration which parent would do a better job promoting the other parent’s relationship with the children. It is the duty of a residential custodial parent to promote the relationship of the children with the other parent.

Unfortunately, judges are trained in the law and not trained to evaluate parenting skills. Some judges rely very heavily on the reports of forensic evaluators, while others take them into consideration but don’t give them as much weight. Deciding who should become the custodial parent is a difficult task. Judges usually pressure the parents to try to resolve the issue on their own. They may suggest a joint custody arrangement to be negotiated out of court. However, if the parents can’t agree, they are entitled to a trial and the judge will determine who should receive residential custody of the children.custody advocate for fathers

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Appellate Court Overrules Trial Court’s Decision Giving Mother Sole Custody

May 28, 2014 By

father's rights lawyerThere was a marriage between Melissa C.D. and Rene I.D. in 1990. Three children were born from the marriage. A fourteen year old daughter, a five year old daughter, and a seventeen year old son. The parties lived together until October 2010.

In a proceeding in November 2010, acting Supreme Court Justice Ann O’Shea awarded Melissa sole residential custody of the parties’ daughters. She made this ruling in spite of the fact the fourteen year old child wanted to continue to live with her father. Judge O’Shea’s decision was based upon her finding the daughter’s best interests were to have no contact with her father or brother for six weeks after moving. Although Justice O’Shea awarded physical custody to Rene, she gave the parties joint decision making authority with regard to all issues concerning healthcare and education. However, in the event of a dispute between the parties Melissa was to have the tie breaking authority to make the final decision.

Children Alienated

The basis for Judge O’Shea’s decision was her ruling that Rene had alienated the older children. She found the alienation related to Rene making inappropriate comments about Melissa. Judge O’Shea found that as a result of the parental alienation of the two older children, they were “vindictive, cruel, angry and broken children.” Judge O’Shea understood the oldest daughter would not be happy with being forced to live with her mother against her wishes. However, in her decision she stated this was “temporary and far less emotionally destructive than abandoning her to an unfit parent which may leave her with permanent emotional scars.”

Appeals Court Decision

The appeals court found although Rene had made inappropriate comments with regard to Melissa, Judge O’Shea’s ruling was incorrect. They found she was “placing undue emphasis on a single factor, the father’s alleged alienation” of the two children. The appeals court found the decision was not in the oldest daughter’s best interest. The appeals court stated in its decision this would “disrupt her life by removing her against her wishes from her father and brother in Manhattan, where she had always lived, and placing her with her mother and her mother’s lover, a situation that she is not comfortable with, on Long Island, in a community that she does not know.” The appeals court felt Judge O’Shea did not take into consideration Melissa’s inappropriate behavior. The court found Melissa’s inappropriate behavior was a factor in the children’s feeling of abandonment and anger. In addition, the appeals court panel took into consideration a court appointed independent, forensic evaluator at the time of the trial had testified there was no evidence the two older children had been alienated by the father. The appeals court also advised the father to be careful as to what he says to the children in the future. His obligation will be to promote the relationship between the children and the mother.

Conclusion

advocating father's rights on Long IslandThis was a victory for father’s rights.

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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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Husband Unsuccessful in Setting Aside Child Support Provisions in Divorce Agreement

April 17, 2014 By

father's rights attorneysA husband brought an application to rescind and declare null and void the portions of a parties’ settlement agreement which dealt with child support. He claimed the amount of child support in the settlement agreement was unsustainable and overreaching. The wife in this case brought a cross application to declare that the agreement was enforceable.

Judge Lawrence Ecker sitting in the Supreme Court Divorce Part in Westchester County stated in his decision the agreement was negotiated over a period of years. There was a mediation concerning issues involving custody, child support, equitable distribution, and spousal maintenance.

Capping Child Support Payments

The husband presented arguments that he was not properly advised that a court could cap child support payments. The attorneys for the wife claimed the husband did not properly assert allegations of fraud or duress in his motion to set aside the settlement agreement and therefore he was actually arguing that he was misled by the mediator and his attorney.

Husband Participated in Negotiations

The court took into consideration the husband was a smart businessman and a financial expert. Judge Ecker found the husband participated in the negotiation of the settlement agreement. The husband’s emails were presented in support of these allegations.

Judge Ecker also noted in his decision there was no obligation for a judge to cap the combined parental income at $136,000 or any other specific amount. The court in its decision found the husband had obtained competent counsel. His attorney had actively participated in negotiations with regard to the settlement agreement. The husband had voluntarily entered into the agreement and the agreement was valid and enforceable. The court rejected the husband’s claim in its entirety. The court held the wife had established she was entitled to a judgment of divorce, the stipulation of settlement was valid and enforceable and therefore granted her summary judgment motion for a divorce.

father's rights advocateConclusion

The husband made a good try at setting aside the agreement but unfortunately his argument was weak and not substantiated by statutes or caselaw.

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What You Need To Know About Prenuptial Agreements

April 10, 2014 By

Prenuptial agreements, which are sometimes referred to as antenuptial agreements, are designed to set forth in a written contract what will happen concerning the division of property and spousal support payments in the event of divorce. Prenuptial agreements also deal with the rights each spouse has to the other spouse’s estate in the event of death.

One thing that is certain concerning prenuptial agreements is they have nothing to do with the romance that leads up to marriage. Sometimes bringing up a discussion of a prenuptial agreement can have the impact of stopping the marriage from moving forward dead in its tracks.

Prenuptial Agreements and Divorce

Prenuptial agreements can help the individuals who enter into a marriage avoid, in the event of a breakdown of the marital relationship, a nasty, difficult, expensive divorce. Prenuptial agreements should be drafted a significant period of time before the date of marriage. A common problem clients face when they call a lawyer a week or so before they plan on getting married is that it usually takes weeks to work out the details, negotiations, and terminology in a prenuptial agreement. Parties who seek to have a prenuptial agreement drafted by attorneys should consider doing it three to six months in advance of their getting married.

Prenuptial Agreements and Disclosure

One of the first steps necessary before entering into a prenuptial agreement is the disclosure as to what each party’s assets are and what each party’s incomes are. Individuals entering into a prenuptial agreement must make a knowing, intelligent decision to enter into these agreements. An individual cannot make a reasonable, intelligent decision if they don’t know what the other party’s assets and income are at the time of the execution of the agreement.

Prenuptial agreements should not be thought of as a document prepared in the anticipation of a divorce. Prenuptial agreements simply lay out each party’s rights and obligations in the event of a divorce or death of one of the spouses. Unfortunately, the divorce rates throughout the United States are very high. In many areas, the divorce rate runs close to 50%. Therefore, putting each of the party’s cards on the table before they enter into the marriage and having an agreement showing what their cards will be when they leave the marriage involves planning for the possibility of a problem while the parties hope the problem never occurs.

Prenuptial Agreements and Obligations to Support Children

Prenuptial agreements generally do not deal with the financial obligations each of the parties has to support children who are born after the execution of the agreement. It is generally against public policy for prenuptial agreements to interfere with each of the party’s financial obligations to children born during the course of the marriage.

There are a variety of pros and cons concerning prenuptial agreements. Individuals going into their first marriage often have a hesitancy to be involved in this type of planning. However, individuals who have been married and divorced, usually want to have prenuptial agreements in their second or third marriages.

Elliot Schlissel is a divorce lawyer with more than 45 years of experience representing individuals in divorce actions. He has extensive experience in protecting father’s rights and helping fathers obtain custody and/or visitation with their children. The office offers free consultations and its phones are monitored seven days a week to deal with emergency situations.

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