Mediating Your Divorce
January 26th, 2012
If you seek a non-confrontational approach to ending your marital relationship, mediation may be the route for you to take. Mediation is a type of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), which can be a very cost-effective and efficient manner of amicably working out divorce related issues.
Mediated divorces are not litigated and there are no court appearances. A trained and neutral third party, usually an attorney familiar with matrimonal and family law, meets with the parties and reviews all issues with them in a non-confrontational manner. If the parties are mature, reasonable, and patient, mediation may be the best route to take with regard to handling a divorce case.
Divorces Where Mediation Won’t Work
Mediation, however, is not for everyone. Situations where the parties are not talking to each other or are not amicable do not present a good prospect for mediation. Cases involving very volatile relationships are also inappropriate cases for mediation. Further, domestic violence matters should not be mediated.
For mediation to be successful both parties must be honest with each other. If either party hides assests or seeks to intimidate the other party, mediation is not going to work.
Divorcing your partner can be a difficult process. Long term decisions need to be made on issues such as child custody, visitation (parenting time), spousal maintenance (alimony), equitable distribution of assets, dealing with business assets, valuing professional degrees, as well as the grounds for divorce. If you decide to use mediation, you should choose your mediator carefully. The Matrimonial and Family law attorneys at the Law Office of Elliot Schlissel have more than 100 years combined experience dealing with all types of Matrimonial and Family Law issues. We are available to discuss mediation and other divorce related topics. Contact us for a free consultation.
New No Fault Divorce Law Eliminates the Need for a Trial
January 3rd, 2012
Supreme Court Justice, Robert J. Muller, has decided that under the new New York No Fault Divorce Law an objecting party is not entitled to a trial on the issue of fault the marriage is beyond repair. Justice Muller’s decision is an interpretation of New York’s year old No Fault Divorce Law. The Judge’s decision interprets the legislature’s intent that the new No Fault Divorce Law does not give an option to a spouse to demand a trial on the issue that the marriage is irreconciably broken.
The Judge in his decision stated “New York Legislature has enacted in DRL Section 170(7), a true No Fault Divorce Law which does not require proof of any fault, and which does not require or permit the government, through it’s courts, to put people seeking a divorce on trial regarding their marriage.” Justice Muller pointed out in his decision that his ruling is in agreement with a decision of Nassau County Supreme Court Justice Anthony J. Falanga in the case of AC vs. DR, where Judge Falanga ruled that a woman could not challenge her husband’s declaration the marriage was irretrivably broken. In that case the woman was also not allowed to have a trial on the fault ground.
Divorce Made Simple
The New Divorce Law eliminates litigation concerning fault issues of who did what to whom. However, issues involving child support, spousal maintenance, custody, orders of protection, visitation rights (parenting time) and attorneys fees in divorces are still subject to litigation.
Father’s Rights and Mother’s Rights
Mothers and fathers have equal rights regarding custody, visitation, child support, spousal maintenance and other issues in divorces. The Law Office of Elliot Schlissel have been litigating these issues for more than three decades. In addition, the law firm negotiates separation agreements, pre nuptial agreements and post nuptial agreements. In cases of one parent turning the children against another, the law firm litigates parental alienation and parental alienation syndrome related issues. Call for a free consultation. The offices phone numbers are 1-800-344-6431, 516-561-6645 or 718-350-2802. The law firm phones are monitored 24/7.
No Fault Divorce Denied to Father
January 2nd, 2012
Scott Schiffer was divorcing his wife, Lynn. He made an application under the new New York Domestic Relations Law section 170-70 for a Summary Judgment based on a irretrevable break down of his marriage to his wife Lynn for a period of six months.
Lynn opposed the Summary Judgment application. Summary Judgment asks a court to render a decision on the issues presented to it without the need for a trial. Lynn claimed that a judgment could not be granted because under the new law both economic and custodial issues concerning custody of the children had to be resolved for the court to finalize a judgment on the case. Her attorney argued to the court since neither of the issues have been resolved the court could not grant a Summary Judgment application on behalf of her spouse in this divorce proceeding. Justice Charles D. Woods, sitting in the Supreme Court of Dutchess County agreed with Lynn’s lawyer’s argument. The court’s decision held the new No Fault Divorce Statute clearly states a judgment cannot be granted unless the economic and issues in concerning child custody and visitation are resolved.
The divorce lawyers at the Law Office of Elliot Schlissel have been assisting New Yorkers and Long Islanders in obtaining divorces for more than 30 years. Our office has developed an expertise regarding issues concerning divorce, orders of protection, child custody, child abuse and child neglect, annulments, and issues involving high networth divorces. Our law office also negotiates pre nuptial and post nuptial agreements. We litigate issues concerning mother’s rights and father’s rights. Should you have Matrimonial or Family Court issues, call us. Our phones are monitored 24/7.
Order of Protection Fails, Woman Shot
January 1st, 2012
Carmen Valdez obtained an order of protection from her boyfriend, Felix Perez. She was assured by police officers that Felix would be arrested if he threatened her in violation of the order of protection, issued by the Bronx Criminal Court. Thereafter, Mr. Perez shot Carmen Valdez. Bullets pierced her face and her arm. Felix Perez killed himself with the same gun. Carmen Valdez sued the City of New York for failure to arrest Felix Perez and protect her pursuant the order of protection.
City of New York Not Liable to Carmen Valdez
The New York State Court of Appeals (New York’s highest court) in a 5-2 decision in the matter of Valez v. The City of New York, found that New York City would not be liable for damages to Carmen Valdez for her gunshot wounds. Even though she was assured by a police officer that her ex-boyfriend would be arrested when he threatened her, the City of New York still could not be held liable. The Court found that Ms. Valdez did not establish or create a “special relationship” between her and New York City based on the promise of a police officer to arrest her boyfriend when he threatened her on the phone. The court stated in its decision Carmen did not have “a justifiable reliance” on the City’s affirmative undertaking of the promise of the police officer to keep her safe. Even though Ms. Valdez, in compliance with her order of protection, reported to a police officer that her boyfriend threatened to kill her “the officer’s statement did not create a special relationship that would create liability upon the City of New York.” So much for the protection offered by an order of protection issued by a Criminal Court!
New York Divorce and Family Court Attorneys
The Law Offices of Elliot Schlissel have been protecting women involved in domestic violence situation, by obtaining orders of protection for them in both the Criminal Courts and Family Courts for more than 30 years. We also represent men and women in issues concerning child abuse, child neglect, divorce related issues, child custody issues, mother’s rights and father’s rights issues as well as drafting pre nuptial and post nuptial agreements. Feel free to call for a free consultation.
Fathers’ Rights Lawyer: Interference with Child Visitation and Relocation
December 23rd, 2011
Mothers and fathers both have the right to have parenting time with their children. All things being equal, and if both parents are fully capable of caring for their children, there is no reason why both parents cannot spend time with their child ,even if the parents have never been married and are not living together.
When there is no court order in place fixing legal custody and parenting time with the child, both parents have equal rights to have access to their children. In New York, when a non-custodial parent is prevented from seeing the children, he has the right to file a petition seeking court ordered visitation with their child.
Once an order from a Court fixes custody and visitation, any attempt by a parent to prevent the court ordered visitation can be a violation of that court order. The noncustodial parent has the right to return to the Family Court and ask a judge to enforce an existing order fixing parenting time and custody.
Child Abduction and Relocation
The worst form of interference with custody and visitation is when a parent abducts the children and relocates without permission from the Court and without consent of the non-custodial parent. Relocating with the children can severely impact on the non-custodial parent’s visitation with their children.
Custodial parents who wish to move far away from the non-custodial parent must petition the family court for an Order which allows them to relocate. The custodial parent who wishes to relocate has the burden to show that relocating with the children is in the children’s best interest, and not just in the interest of the relocating parent.
Parents who abscond with their children and frustrate the non-custodial parent’s court ordered visitation are clearly in contempt of a court order and are subject to severe sanctions.
Mindy McCready Abduct her Child
Recently, the matter of the famous singer Mindy McCready having allegedly abducted her own child from the child’s legal guardian has received extensive news coverage. Though not involving interference with custody by a non-custodial parent, the interference of court ordered custody can still be a criminal offense.
Aggressive Fathers’ Rights Lawyers
The Law Offices of Elliot Schlissel have more than thirty years experience aggressively fighting for the rights of the fathers we represent. We deal with relocation problems, interstate abductions, international relocations and all other cases where the custodial parent seeks to move the child away from the locality where the father lives.
In addition, our law firm represents fathers with regard to domestic violence cases in both the Criminal and Family Courts, orders of protection, allegations of child abuse and child neglect, as well as paternity issues and divorces. We also represent grandparents in grandparents’ rights cases. Call for a free consultation at 1-800-344-6431, 516-561-6645 or 718-350-2802.
Divorce and College Tuition Expenses for Children (Part 2)
December 2nd, 2011
State University of New York (SUNY)
SUNY schools or the cost of sending the children to the most expensive SUNY school.
The SUNY CAP In Case Law
resources in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Although the mother was willing to pay for half of the cost of sending one of her sons to Syracuse University, the father was not. He only wished to pay half of the expense to send his son to the State University of New York at Binghamton.
Fathers who come to our law office often claim that they are treated like second class citizens in the Family Court regarding child custody, visitation, child support, spousal maintenance (alimony), orders of protection and issues involving child abuse and child neglect. They also relate to us that in divorce proceedings in the Supreme Court they are not treated fairly. Our law office represents fathers with regard to all types of proceedings in the Family Court and the Supreme Court. We aggressively protect fathers’ rights. We deal with difficult issues, such as downward modifications of child support, relocation problems, parental alienation cases and issues involving parental alienation syndrome. For more than 33 years, we have been recognized as one of the premier fathers’ rights law firms in the Metropolitan New York area. If you have matrimonial or family problems, we can help you. Call for a consultation at 1-800-344-6431, 516-561-6645 and 718-350-2802.
Divorce and College Tuition Expenses for Children (Part 1)
November 30th, 2011
There are many issues that come up in divorces. Who gets custody, child support, visitation (parenting schedules), equitable distribution of property and the payment of debts from the marriage. These issues can cause divorces to be contentious. Litigants in divorce cases spend large sums of money fighting to protect their rights concerning these problems.
College Expenses
If the parties to a marriage have children, how is the issue of college expenses dealt with? To start with, most litigants in a divorce will tell their attorney that their children are young and they don’t want to deal with the college expense issue now, that they’d prefer to wait until a later time. In those situations, the attorney should ask his clients how much they have saved up for college so far. The answer to that question is often either zero or a very small amount.
During settlement discussions on divorce issues, the parties often get together at one of the attorney’s offices and have a four party meeting. At this meeting, both spouses and their respective attorneys face each other across a conference room table and discuss, in a mature, intelligent, reasonable manner the issues involved in their divorce.
The purpose of these discussions is to try to work out an amicable settlement without the need for expensive litigation. When the issue of college tuition comes up, both of the spouses sometimes say they agree that we should pay for the college expenses for their children. Often the Attorney will inform them of something along the lines of: “well, your children are eight and ten, as of this point. You have saved very little towards their college expenses. Even though you seek to pay for your childrens’ college expenses, and this is admirable, since you haven’t saved money up until this point, it is unlikely that you will be able to save enough money to pay for the tuition in the future”
Divorce and Family Court Lawyers
I have been representing men and women concerning issues involving divorce, divorce grounds and family law problems for more than 33 years. I have been involved in hundreds of cases dealing with issues concerning orders of protection, child custody, child abuse, child neglect, division of marital property and regarding negotiation and separation agreements. My law office protects mothers’ rights and fathers’ rights in divorce and family court situations. Should you have questions or seek a free consultation, call me at 1-800-344-6431, 516-561-6645 or 718-350-2802.
Track Your Cheating Spouse With iPhone Application
November 29th, 2011
There is a new application for the iPhone 4S. This application can track people. An interesting case involves a man who purchased a new iPhone 4S for his wife and loaded the “Find my friends app” onto her phone without her knowing about it. He had been suspicious about her meeting another man for liasons. She told him she was going to one place and he tracked her on the iPhone app. to another.
This new iPhone application can be used by boyfriends and girlfriends to track significant others to see if they are telling the truth as to where they’re going, should foul play be a possibility. The wonders of new technology. Now instead of hiring a private investigator to track your spouse, you can simply put an app on their iPhone and figure out where they’re going. So much for trust in relationships!
The new iPhone 4S has been a spectacular success. This new operating system has been purchased by more than four million people during its first three days on the market. It is too bad Steve Jobs didn’t live long enough to see this tremendous success of Apple’s newest product.
The Law Office of Elliot Schlissel can help you if you wish to divorce your spouse. We have extensive experience in dealing with divorce grounds, and other family law related issues. We can assist you with question involving child custody, annulments, amicable divorce, mothers’ rights, fathers’ rights and the mediation of divorce related issues. We also have extensive experience in dealing with high net worth divorces and family owed business issues. Call us for a free consultation.
Re – marriage, Why Do Men Do It?
November 28th, 2011
Paul McCarthy Re-marriedBeing Alone
When marriage fails what you need is a good lawyer! The Father’s rights lawyers at the Law Office of Elliot Schlissel have been helping men protect their rights for over 33 years. We litigate all aspects of divorce, including child custody, visitation, child support, spousal maintenance (alimony) and equitable distribution of property. We also represent fathers with regard to proceedings in family court. We litigate issues involving paternity, downward modifications of child support, relocation problems, parental alienation cases and issues involving parental alienation syndrome. We also negotiate separation agreements for our clients. Feel free to call us for a free consultation.The Law Firm handles cases in Nassau County, Kings County, Queens County and throughout the Metropolitan New York area.
Problems Men Face in Family Courts
November 18th, 2011
Have men’s rights in Family Courts become a civil rights matter? Do men need to band together to protect their rights that are being abused in Family Courts? Is there an inherent bias against men in the Family Courts? Do Family Courts make presumptions that have a negative effect on men’s rights?
Women as Nurturers
women have had equal rights regarding custody of their children. So why have men not faired well in the Family Courts?
Primary Care Givers
Fathers who come to our law office often claim that they are treated like second class citizens in the Family Court regarding child custody, visitation, child support, spousal maintenance (alimony), orders of protection and issues involving child abuse and child neglect. They also relate to us that in divorce proceedings in the Supreme Court they are not treated fairly.
Our law office represents fathers with regard to all types of proceedings in the Family Court and the Supreme Court. We aggressively protect fathers’ rights. We deal with difficult issues, such as downward modifications of child support, relocation problems, parental alienation cases and issues involving parental alienation syndrome. For more than 33 years, we have been recognized as one of the premier fathers’ rights law firms in the Metropolitan New York area. If you have matrimonial or family problems, we can help you. Call for a consultation at 1-800-344-6431, 516-561-6645 and 718-350-2802.
Established in 1978, 
