Wife’s Request for Attorney’s Fees Substantially Reduced

April 3, 2014 By

dads' rights attorneyIn a divorce action before Justice Stacy Bennett in the Supreme Court Matrimonial Part in Nassau County, Justice Bennett was presented with a case involving an application for substantial attorney’s fees. The wife and the husband in this divorce case had resolved all issues concerning joint custody of the parties’ children and they had agreed to a value of the husband’s interest in his medical practice. There was a trial and husband was granted a judgment of divorce. However, there were outstanding financial issues that still needed to be resolved. One of these issues was the wife’s application for legal fees.

Wife Minimally Contributed to the Marriage

Justice Bennett in her decision discussed the wife’s contributions during the parties’ sixteen year marriage. She found that the wife had actually had very minimal contributions. Justice Bennett in her decision stated the wife didn’t clean or cook at the marital residence. The wife had the benefit of nannies who took care of the children. Justice Bennett found the wife’s direct contributions to the husband’s business were extremely limited. She found all the wife did was host an annual holiday party or a picnic. As a result of the wife’s minimal contributions to the husband’s business, she awarded the wife a 15% interest in the husband’s medical practice.

Wife’s Request for Attorney’s Fees

Wife submitted a request for attorney’s fees of approximately $573,000. Attorneys for the husband argued these attorneys fees were excessive and unreasonable. They argued the case was relatively simple and attorneys fees of this nature were completely unjustified. Justice Bennett upon reviewing the facts of the case held the amount of attorneys fees was indeed unreasonable. She awarded the wife $150,000 of attorneys fees to be paid by the husband to her attorneys.

advocate for dadsElliot Schlissel, Esq., is a father’s rights lawyer with more than 45 years of experience representing fathers throughout the Metropolitan New York area.

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Husband Ordered to Pay Wife’s Attorneys Fees for 12 Day Trial

March 20, 2014 By

Josh Tope had brought a divorce action in November 2011 against his wife. He had worked as an engineering consultant earning $46,000 per year. He had previously worked as an engineer earning $90,000 per year. He gave up his job to manage real estate. He presumed this would be more lucrative. It turned out to not be lucrative at all.

The Trial

There was a trial before Judge Patrick Leis, sitting in a Supreme Court Part in Suffolk County. Judge Leis ruled Mr. Tope had “engaged in obstructionist conduct”. This conduct caused the trial to last twelve days. As a result of his obstructionist, inappropriate conduct, Judge Leis ordered he pay his wife’s attorneys fees.

Judge Leis stated in his opinion, “this case highlights the difficulties that arise when one party uses their self represented status as both a sword and a shield in an attempt to gain undue advantage and behaves in a manner that the court would never tolerate from an attorney.” Judge Leis’ position was the divorce trial should have lasted no longer than four days. Judge Leis went on to state, “simple justice dictates that the defendant who chooses to function from a position of anger and resentment not be allowed to purposely drive up the plaintiff’s counsel fees and act in such an inappropriate manner, without being made responsible for all of the trial fees.”

Trial Issues

The issues at trial solely dealt with outstanding debts such as mortgages, credit cards and legal fees. Prior to the trial moving forward, Tope requested Judge Leis recuse himself from handling the trial. Tope threatened to complain to the Commission on Judicial Conduct if Judge Leis did not step down from handling the case. Judge Leis did not step down finding Tope’s request to be frivolous.

Inappropriate Action at Trial

Judge Leis found Tope acted in an aggressive, inappropriate manner during the course of the trial. He ignored the Judge’s rulings, and he failed to follow the judge’s instructions. He shouted at the plaintiff’s attorney in an aggressive, hostile manner. Judge Leis took the position Tope took this action to punish his wife and run up her attorney’s fees.

Judge Leis ruled despite the fact Tope was not earning more than his wife at the time of the trial, he had the potential to earn $90,000 per year. The judge therefore imputed $90,000 a year as imputed income to Tope and found he was in a superior position based on his imputed income to pay for the wife’s attorney’s fees.

Conclusion

It is not a good idea to misbehave in a courtroom and anger the judge.

protecting dads and kidsElliot Schlissel is a father’s rights lawyer representing fathers on divorces and Family Court cases throughout the Metropolitan New York area.

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Husband Allowed to Have Wife Removed from Residence

February 18, 2014 By

father's rights lawyerDuring a divorce lawsuit, a husband provided the court with documentation the parties’ home was moving towards foreclosure. The court appointed the husband as a receiver and gave him authority to list the home with real estate brokers and conduct the sale of the home.

The wife did not accept the court’s initial ruling and brought a motion to renew or reargue the court’s prior decision concerning the husband being entitled to sell the home to avoid it being sold in foreclosure. The wife claimed in her application to the court he had failed to abide by a court order to make timely payments of the mortgage obligation on the home. She claimed that there were funds available for the husband to pay the mortgage in his 401(k) plan.

Home Handicapped Accessible

The wife argued extensively that their home was handicapped accessible. She claimed she needed to live in this handicapped accessible home and the judge should allow her to continue to live there.

The husband asked the court to keep him as the receiver of the home and allow him to have his wife removed from the home to facilitate his ability to list the home for sale and have the home sold.

Wife Interfered in the Sale of the Home

Justice John Bivona sitting in the Supreme Court Divorce Part in Suffolk County granted the husband’s application. The judge found that his wife had been interfering in the sale of the marital home. As a result of her interference, the parties were suffering economic waste of a valuable marital asset.

Conclusion

helping fathers during trialThe judge in this case felt it was in the parties’ best interests to maximize the return on the sale of the marital residence by having it sold privately instead of being sold in foreclosure where it would go for less than fair market value.

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Husband Delays Divorce Proceedings: Wife Awarded Temporary Attorneys’ Fees

February 13, 2014 By

father's rights lawyersJudge Jeffrey Sunshine sitting in a Divorce Part in the Supreme Court of Kings County recently awarded a wife temporary attorneys’ fees in a pending divorce case due to the husband delaying the case from moving forward.

The wife had received an order in a prior application directing the husband to pay spousal maintenance (alimony) and child support to wife. Husband brought a motion to reargue this temporary spousal maintenance and child support order. Wife cross moved and claimed husband was simply delaying this case from moving forward causing her unnecessary attorneys’ fees and that the husband should be forced to pay her unnecessary additional attorneys’ fees.

Wife Claimed to be the Non-Monied Spouse

The wife argued in her court papers she was the non-monied spouse. She claimed the husband had “hundreds of thousands of dollars in unrecorded income” from his business. The husband’s position was the wife was the monied spouse. He claimed she made $90,000 a year while he earned significantly less money. He presented his tax return to back these allegations.

Judge Sunshine noted the husband failed to provide information to explain why a number of accounts with significant assets in them did not appear on his net worth statement. Judge Sunshine went on to say in his decision the husband did not reveal “forgotten” accounts until his wife, after extensive discovery, was able to document the existence of these accounts and the funds in them. The judge’s decision stated that the husband was unwilling to reveal his true financial circumstances.

The failure of the husband to provide the wife with a detailed accounting of his financial circumstances cost her additional attorneys’ fees due to the extensive discovery she had been forced to undertake. As a result, the judge awarded the wife $40,000 in temporary attorneys’ fees.

Conclusion

divorce counsel for husbands and fathersHonesty is the best policy. If a judge finds that you are being less than honest during divorce litigation, he will punish you.

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Alimony for Men

February 10, 2014 By

father's rights lawyerIt is becoming more common for men to seek alimony, which is called spousal maintenance, in New York from their ex-wives. In 1979, the United States Supreme Court ruled in the case of Orr v. Orr there should be no gender bias with regard to courts awarding men alimony (spousal maintenance).

In 2010, there were 400,000 people in America receiving spousal maintenance. Only 3% of those were men receiving spousal maintenance from their ex-wives. There has been a significant increase recently in the number of men seeking spousal maintenance. It is becoming more common for women to become the person supporting their family.

There are more and more stay at home fathers in the United States than there ever were before. There has been a significant change in social mores which makes it more acceptable for men to ask for spousal maintenance from their spouses. There was a time that a man’s machismo would prevent him from asking a court to have his ex-wife help support him. However, in recent years, the difficulties men have been having in the employment market have caused them to be more realistic with regard to thinking about how they will live after their divorce.

Spousal Maintenance

There are two significant issues with regard to receiving spousal maintenance. The first issue is how much should the man ask for per month. This usually relates to what his financial needs are and the level of income his spouse has. The second significant issue is the duration of the spousal maintenance. How long, under the circumstances of the parties’ marriage, should he receive spousal maintenance for? The spousal maintenance may be rehabilitative, meaning it may be designed to be paid until such time as the man can find a job and get back on his feet again.

Conclusion

Spousal maintenance for men who need it from their wives is a step in the right direction. Men have rights to receive spousal maintenance just like women.

assisting fathers in pursuing their rightsElliot S. Schlissel is a father’s rights lawyer representing men throughout the New York Metropolitan area regarding divorces and Family Court proceedings.

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Present Income Rule Applied Regarding Spousal Maintenance Payments

January 21, 2014 By

father's rights attorneyIn a case of first impression, Justice Lawrence Ecker sitting in the Supreme Court Matrimonial Part in Westchester County dealt with the issue as to whether the present income rule which is applicable in child support proceedings, can be utilized in determining the amount of spousal maintenance due from one party to a marriage to the other. In this case, the wife sought temporary spousal maintenance from the husband in the amount of $17,000 per month. Justice Ecker took note the husband’s 2012 tax return showed income of $820,000. However, he obtained a new position in 2013 because he lost his prior job through no fault of his own. His new job paid him approximately one-third of the wages he earned from his previous employment. The question presented to the court was whether it should utilize the income the husband received on his 2012 tax return, or use his present income in 2013 to determine the amount of his financial obligation for spousal maintenance to his wife.

Justice Ecker analyzed the situation in the context of a child support proceeding. The present income rule is appropriate to determine child support payments. Justice Ecker reached the conclusion he could utilize the present income standard for child support payments to determine the husband’s obligation for spousal maintenance (alimony). Utilizing this theory, he found the husband’s income in 2013 would be $250,000. The wife received no income during that year. He therefore concluded that the husband should pay the wife spousal maintenance of $5,737 and not the $17,000 she was requesting.

Conclusion

This is a huge victory for fathers. In the past, fathers were punished for being successful. The theory that no good deed goes unpunished was applicable to spousal maintenance awards. Fathers who had had high paying jobs and were then downsized were forced to pay spousal maintenance based on what they used to earn, not what they currently earned. This decision is a great step forward by this court in arriving at a fair and reasonable amount of spousal maintenance to be paid by the father in this case.

helping husbandsElliot Schlissel is a father’s rights lawyer, representing fathers on child support and spousal maintenance cases.

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Social Media Websites and Divorce Proceedings

January 16, 2014 By

father's rights lawyersRecently questions have arisen as to whether social media websites are having an impact on increasing the divorce rates in the United States. There are many social media websites, such as MySpace, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Photobucket, and numerous other ones. Increasingly, lawyers and investigators are obtaining information from social media websites with regard to spouses carrying on elicit affairs and romances during the course of their marriage. Access to an individual’s social media websites can provide all types of information concerning their social activities. In a recent survey of attorneys who are members of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, it was found that there has been a significant increase in number of divorce cases which have utilized evidence obtained from material posted on social media websites by parties to the litigation.

Private Investigators Use Social Media Websites

In the old days, it was necessary to hire a private investigator to investigate the private life of a spouse who may have been committing adultery. Today, investigators instead of going into the field with a camera and/or snooping around motel rooms search through photo files, comments on walls, information on the individual’s profile pages, and all types of other information gleamed from social media websites. Photos taken from social media websites are increasingly finding their ways into court proceedings.

It is said a photo is worth a thousand words. Unfortunately, the wrong photo can be the basis of a divorce proceeding. In addition, photos have been utilized by criminal attorneys in driving while intoxicated cases to show dependence on alcohol or inappropriate drinking habits. Inappropriate behavior demonstrated by material taken from a social media website can be used in divorce proceedings to document an individual would be a poor choice to be the custodial parent. This can be an effective technique to obtain evidence in child custody and child support proceedings.

In addition to the utilization of photographs in court proceedings, incriminating and/or inappropriate photographs are also used by attorneys in negotiating out of court settlements in divorce and family court litigation. There are many cases of compromising photographs on websites creating pressure in negotiations to force settlements in divorce cases.

Social Media Website Used for Flirting

In 2008, a study was done entitled “The Pew Study of Internet and American Life.” One of the interesting results of this study was it was found that 20% of all adults interviewed in the study who maintained online social media websites stated they had flirted with others on these websites.
Jason Krafsky has written a book called Facebook and Your Marriage. In his book, he claims that spouses need to set limits on what they utilized social media websites for. He recommends in his book spouses share passwords and user names. He suggests this so they can each check what each other is doing on social media websites. He specifically recommends spouses do not maintain communication on social media websites with ex-lovers. He claims this can lead to misunderstandings and have a negative effect on the marital relationships.

finding evidence to help husbands in divorceElliot S. Schlissel is a father’s rights lawyer practicing in the Metropolitan New York area. His office represents fathers on issues concerning child custody, child support, spousal maintenance and the division of property in divorce proceedings.

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Stay at Home Husbands

January 14, 2014 By

father's rights lawyerThere was a recent article in the New York Times, Sunday Edition, which stated super achieving moms on Wall Street have house husbands. This article examined the phenomenon of stay at home husbands. The article stated there has been a thousand percent increase since 1980 in the number of women working in finance on Wall Street who have stay at home spouses. The article pointed out the stay at home spouses allowed the women to be successful without having the responsibility of maintaining their household and raising their children.

It is not unusual for successful women who work in large law firms to rely on a man to help take care of the children, deal with the family’s meals, and supervise the household chores. It is common for partners in large New York City law firms to either be single or to be married to someone who relieves them of their responsibilities in the home.

Successful women are sometimes embarrassed to admit their significant others are raising their children and maintaining their home. There are a variety of reasons for this. They are concerned in the event of a break up of the relationship their significant other will get custody of the children.

Changing Gender Stereotypes

When a woman is the primary breadwinner, and the man maintains the home and takes care of the children, there is a change in gender roles. In some of these cases, men are reluctant to acknowledge they have exchanged the roles played by them and their female companion. However, in an economy where jobs are hard to find, the house husband should be grateful he has a very successful wife, or significant other, earning enough money to pay all of the family’s bills and to maintain the family at a reasonable standard of living.

Conclusion

Family life requires sacrifices. If one spouse is the primary breadwinner, it is not unreasonable for the other spouse to maintain the household and help raise the children.

Elliot S. Schlissel is a father’s rights lawyer. He has been representing fathers in divorces and helping fathers with custody issueschild custody cases and child support cases for more than 45 years.

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Father Entitled to Credit for Overpayments of Child Support

January 9, 2014 By

father's rights attorneyThe general rule concerning child support payments, in New York State, is if you overpay your child support, you are not entitled to a refund or credit for the overpayments. However, if you underpay your child support, legal action can be taken against you to force you to pay the correct amount of child support. In a recent case, a father over paid child support by $29,000. This was due to an error made by a support magistrate. In this case, even though there is a public policy in New York that prevents restitution of overpayments in child support cases, an upstate appeals court has made a ruling giving the father credit for the $29,000 in overpayments in child support.

Appeals Court Gives Father a $29,000 Credit

The case took place in Albany County. Judge W. Dennis Duggan had increased the man’s child support payments by $1,000 per month. An appeals court reversed the judge’s ruling. The appeals court stated it would be unjust to deny the father a credit for the overpayment.

Judge Duggan stated that if the father had underpaid child support he would have had to have made up the difference. Judge Duggan went on to state “the law can not contenance a situation where the father is liable for up to $29,000 in excess child support when Family Court gets it wrong but he would get a credit for up to $29,000 when Family Court gets it right.”

The original child support payment was $1500 per month pursuant to a judgment of divorce. A support magistrate had granted an order raising it to $2500 per month based on a change in circumstances. The appellate court reversed the support magistrate’s ruling.

Conclusion

Denying a father the appropriate credit for overpayments punishes the father for following a court order that is later reversed. This would be fundamentally unfair. Fathers should be entitled to credits for overpayments of child support. These credits should be utilized with regard to future child support payments the father is obligated to make.

help in handling child support issues Elliot S. Schlissel is a father’s rights attorney who has represented fathers throughout the Metropolitan New York area for more than 45 years in divorce cases and Family Court proceedings.

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Disabled Father Gets Child Support Arrears Reduced

January 7, 2014 By

father's rights attorneysSection 451 of the New York Family Court Act states arrears on child support will only be modified from the date the petition to reduce them is filed. This means in the event you have a heart attack and/or are sick in the hospital for six months, and thereafter you file a downward modification for child support, you only get the downward modification from the date you filed the petition, not as of the time six months ago when you were hospitalized with a heart attack. This makes no sense!

A lawsuit was brought on behalf of a father to cap his child support arrears at $500. The father had suffered a heart attack. He was rendered disabled. He couldn’t work. Eventually his income fell below the poverty level. It took him months to become healthy enough to file a petition in the Family Court for the reduction of his child support arrears. Upon taking this action, the Family Court denied his application and said pay up.

Appeal to the Appellate Division

An appeal was brought to the Appellate Division of the Second Department (an appeals court). The Appellate Division held since the petitioner was impoverished before petitioning for relief “the prohibition against reduction of accrued arrears contained in Family Court Act section 451 is not triggered because there was no accrued arrears in excess of $500 to reduce.”

This decision helped establish that disabled parents who cannot work, and cannot initially petition for the reduction of their child support obligations are still entitled to the reduction as of the date of their disability, not the date they bring the petition. Child support payments should not be allowed to have an unfair impact on disabled and/or indigent parents.

child support assistance for fathersThe writer has been helping fathers with child support problems for more than 45 years.

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