The Elliot Schlissel New York Law Blog

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.

More than 40% of the people in this country think marriage is obsolete! This is according to research study. People between the ages of 18 and 30 believe maintaining excellent parenting skills is far more important than being married. So, are marriages becoming obsolete? There are many issues that face couples who marry. One of them deals with unmet expectations.

Should Marriage Make You Happy?

Can your marital partner satisfy all your needs, emotional, psychological and sexual? It is difficult to meet expectations in marriages. Many men and women find after they are married they the end up with a low conflict and a low passion relationship. First there’s love intertwined with passion. Then there’s boredom, annoyances and the uncovering of flaws in your spouse. No passion sometimes leads to the parties in marriages having affairs.

Boredom

“Been there, done that” is a popular expression. When you spend a life with another individual, “been there, done that”, can be the order of the day. Kristen and Mark of the Kinsey Institute for Sex, Gender and Reproduction found that a quarter of all people who were interviewed were bored with their monogamous relationship. Another a quarter stated “they were on the brink of boredom”. Women tend to feel lonely when the love in their marriage fades. Men tend to feel “trapped”. Are marriages becoming obsolete because expectations are too high or is divorce simply becoming much easier to obtain?

No Fault Divorce In New York

In 2011, New York became the 50th and final state to adopt a true no fault divorce law. Prior to 2011, the grounds for divorce in New York were adultery, cruel and inhuman treatment, abandonment for a period in excess of one year and living separate and apart pursuant to written agreement of separation. New York now recognizes the grounds for divorce where the parties have irreconcilable differences for a period of six months. This is a true no fault divorce statute.

Although divorce grounds are no longer relevant, should your marriage fail, you will face issues involving child custody, visitation, division of property and child support. To avoid these issues should your marriage fail down the road, it would be in your interest to enter into a prenuptial agreement prior to marriage or a post nuptial agreement after your marriage.

Should you have questions regarding legal issues concerning marriage and divorce, feel free to call the Law Offices of Elliot Schlissel at 516-561-6645, 718-350-2802 or 1-800- 344-6431.

Judge Dregger, sitting in Manhattan Supreme Court, denied a very successful private equity firm executive from presenting evidence in a divorce case that he had “unique personality traits” prior to the marriage that allowed him to accumulate 450 million dollars in business assets during the thirty year term of his marriage. Justice Dregger, in her decision, stated that “in purporting to prove that the success of the business is solely attributable to his innate genius, the expert opinion evidence offered by the husband provides no assistance to the finder of fact in fashioning an equitable distribution of the estate based on the contributions of each party to the marital partnership.” Mr. and Mrs. Silverman were married for more than thirty years prior to a divorce lawsuit being brought. They had married in January of 1978.

Innate Talents

Mr. Silverman claimed that he had unique innate talents that allowed him to be successful in this business. Mr. Silverman argued that his talents in business should be considered in determining equitable distribution. Justice Dregger stated that intangible assets may be considered as marital property, referring to the enhanced earning capacity of an investment banker, someone with celebrity status or someone involved in a political career. However, she stated the question is “to what degree the spouse not possessed of the intangible asset was entitled to a distributive aware arising from the enhanced earning capacity of the career developed during the marriage and not the degree of fame, skill or political acumen possessed at the time of the marriage.”

Henry Silverman is out of luck. The 450 million dollars he amassed is subject to equitable distribution with his wife. I’m sure he’ll end up with enough money to prevent himself from starving.

New York and Long Island Divorce Lawyer

The law office of Elliot Schlissel have been handling divorces in the Metropolitan New York area for over thirty-three years. We litigate all aspects of divorce related proceedings in the Supreme Court and Family Court. These proceedings involve divorce grounds, no fault divorce, child custody, mothers’ rights, fathers’ rights, child support, downward modification of child support, spousal maintenance (alimony) and domestic violence issues. In addition, we negotiate separation agreements, prenuptial agreementsand post-nuptial agreements for our clients. We litigate equitable distribution issues involving doctor, dentist and lawyer licenses. Call us for a free consultation.

Getting divorced is not fun. It can be one of the most stressful times in men and women’s lives. Even in amicable situations, men and women tend to find themselves being stressed out. Divorce involves an emotional break up as well as a financial break up. Issues involving custody and visitation of children can be gut wrenching. There are things that you should do and that you should avoid doing that may make your divorce less antagonistic and stressful.

Don’t Do The Following

Don’t decide to take a job in another state or move out of the country until all aspects of your divorce are resolved. Avoid violating temporary custody or temporary visitation arrangements. If you don’t comply with the temporary custody or visitation arrangements, you may not be able to obtain permanent custody. Do not hide your assets, or lend your assets to your friends. You’ll find this is counter productive and may lead to large legal fees to straighten out these issues.

Hire An Attorney

Only a fool would represent himself or herself in a divorce. The laws in the State of New York are complicated and the legal system is full of problems for the unweary.

Things To Do When You’re Divorced

Try to be reasonable! Take into consideration your spouses point of view. Cooperate with your lawyer and the court. Be prepared to make reasonable compromises.

You should provide child support to your children during the divorce process. Divorce is a process where adults break up a relationship. Children are the innocent victims in divorces. Try to avoid having your children pick sides as to who is right and who is wrong.

When you’re visiting with the children, let your spouse know where the children are. See to it that the children can maintain reasonable telephone communication with the other parent when they are in your company.

Create a list of your assets and property and disclose them all to the other side. If you seek to hide your assets or engage in financial deception, you can end up litigating your divorce again and again in the future.

Maintain an appropriate level of communication with your lawyer. Don’t be afraid to ask him or her questions. The lawyer works for you! His or her job is to help you. If you feel you do not understand the divorce process, have the attorney explain it to you.

Father’s Rights Lawyers

Elliot Schlissel, Esq. and his associates have been representing fathers in divorce and family court proceedings for more than 30 years. The firm deals with issues involving orders or protection, paternity, child abuse defense, CPS and ACS problems, child neglect issues, child support, child custody, visitation and spousal maintenance (alimony). The firm handles no fault divorces as well as fault divorces. Issues involving attorneys fees in divorces are expertly handled by the firm. In the appropriate situations, the firm obtains annulments for our clients.

Issues involving grandparent’s rights, equitable distribution and relocation problems are dealt with on a regular basis by the firm.  One of the more difficult issues we have developed in expertise is that fathers face is parental alienation of the fathers by mothers that create parental alienation syndrome issues for their children. Call for a consultation regarding any of the aforementioned issues.

On Friday, June 24, 2011, New York became the largest state in the country to allow lesbian and gay couples to marry. It was questionable, up to the last minute, as to whether this law would pass the New York State Senate. In the final moments, four Republican majority members joined all but one Democrat and voted in support of the gay rights statute.

Previously Passed by New York State Assembly

The New York State Assembly had passed the same sex marriage law last week. Immediately after the law was passed, Governor Cuomo signed the law. This means the law went into effect on July 24, 2011.

New York is the fifth state in the country to permit the same sex marriages. The other states that have approved same sex marriages are: Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Iowa and Connecticut.

This is the third year in a row that gay rights advocates had lobbied for New York State to pass a gay rights marriage bill. Governor Andrew Cuomo lobbied the New York State Legislature to pass this law. Governor Cuomo made this bill one of his top legislative priorities for the year.

Cap on Local Property Taxes

In addition to passing a same sex marriage law, the New York State Legislature passed statutes which created a cap on local property tax increases, as well as a five year tuition increase at the State University of New York and the City Colleges of New York.

Same Sex Divorce

If marriages are made in heaven, or now in the State of New York, divorces are made by the courts. Marriage is supposed to be forever, but the divorce rate upon heterosexual couples in the State of New York is close to 50%.

The law office of Elliot Schlissel have been handling divorces in the Metropolitan New York area for over 33 years. We litigate all aspects of divorce related proceedings in the Supreme Court and Family Court. These proceedings involve divorce grounds, no fault divorce, child custody, mothers’ rights,f athers’ rights, child support, downward modification of child support, spousal maintenance (alimony)and domestic violence issues. In addition, we negotiate separation agreements, prenuptial agreementsand post-nuptial agreements for our clients. We litigate equitable distribution issues involving doctor, dentist and lawyer licenses. Please call us for a free consultation.

Halle Berry was married to Gabriel Aubry. They have a daughter named Nahia. Halle Berry is an oscar winning actress. She has been engaged in a custody fight over her two year old daughter Nahia.

Halle has dropped out of a broadway play due to custody issues. She had been scheduled to make her broadway debut in September. The play was called the Mountain Top. Samuel L. Jackson is portraying Dr. Martin Luther King in the play. Halle was to portray a maid at the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis where King was the night before he was shot.

Nasty Custody Battle

Halle has been involved in a nasty custody battle with her ex partner Gabriel Aubry. The couple initially split up in 2010.

Halle Pulls Out of Movie Entitled New Year’s Eve

Halle Berry has also dropped out of a movie entitled New Year’s Eve. She blamed her pending custody litigation involving her daughter for her dropping out of this film.

She has recently claimed she has been unable to amicably resolve her custody issues with the child’s father Gabriel. A representative for Halle Berry has stated “she has serious concerns for her daughter’s well being while in the care of her father for any extended period of time and is prepared to take all necessary steps to protect her.” Is the real issue that Nahia’s father Gabriel Aubry is the parent who spends the majority of the time meeting the child’s needs while Halle pursues her career. It appears that Gabriel spends a majority of the time taking care of this child, while Halle is off making movies and appearing in other productions.

Father’s Rights Lawyers in New York

Children have two parents, a father and a mother. Under New York Law they have equal rights to custody and visitation. We are father’s rights lawyers. We litigate issues on behalf of fathers involving divorce, orders of protection, child custody, child visitation, child support, spousal maintenance (alimony), child abuse defense, paternity, no fault divorce and issues involving attorneys fees in divorces. We also assist our clients in obtaining annulments and dealing with parental relocation problems. We negotiate separation agreements, pre nuptial and post nuptial agreements for our clients. We represent fathers in cases in Nassau County, Kings County, Queens County and the rest of the Metropolitan New York area. Call for a free consultation.

The financial crisis in the United States is causing tension within families. Financial problems can be the cause of a divorce. In most marriages the family home is the largest asset. The decline in home values over the past three or four years has resulted in many homes being worth less than the mortgages on them.

Postponing Divorce

Recent studies have shown that nearly a third of all couples who considered divorce have postponed their divorce plans due to financial problems.

Divorce and Real Estate Issues

What do you do with the house in the divorce? Who stays in the house? Who is responsible for paying the bills on the house? These are significant issues that must be dealt with.

Living Together Until Financial Problems Can Be Dealt With

One choice for couples who don’t get along is to continue living together, but not as man and wife. These couples live together with the hope that their financial situation will improve and they will be able to sell their home and get their equity out of it. However, there is no sign the real estate market is improving throughout the majority of the United States. Furthermore, there is always a question as to whether living with someone you don’t get along with creates a negative environment for the children or will result in domestic violence.

Are the Mortgage Payments Behind?

If the mortgage payments are behind, the unhappy couple will eventually be receiving a foreclosure notice. Is it better to sell the house now or wait until it’s sold in foreclosure?

Modern Divorce

Divorce can be a contentious issue or it can be negotiated. The best solution for couples that don’t get along is for them to sit down with attorneys and negotiate in a mature, amicable manner, in either a divorce settlement or separation agreement. This will help avoid the acrimony and high cost of litigation.

New York and Long Island Divorce Lawyer

The law office of Elliot Schlissel have been handling divorces in the Metropolitan New York area for over 33 years. We litigate all aspects of divorce related proceedings in the Supreme Court and Family Court. These proceedings involve divorce grounds, no fault divorce, child custody, mothers’ rights, fathers’ rights, child support, downward modification of child support, spousal maintenance (alimony)and domestic violence issues. In addition, we negotiate separation agreements, prenuptial agreementsand post-nuptial agreements for our clients. We litigate equitable distribution issues involving doctor, dentist and lawyer licenses. Call us for a free consultation.

It is estimated that hundreds of non-judicial workers will lose their jobs related to an additional $70 million dollars in budget cuts from the judiciary budget in the state of New York. The $70 million in budget cuts is in addition to a previous $100 million that was cut from the $2.7 billion budget for the judiciary in the state of New York.

Judge Lipman, the Chief Judge in New York State, has not specifically identified who will be laid off as of this date. There are concerns that court houses will be closed due to these budget cuts. Judge Lipman claims that this will not happen and that the court houses will remain open.

Court Administrators Fight Layoffs

Court administrators fought to avoid significant layoffs. They had hoped the courts reduced budget requirements could be met by instituting an early retirement program, eliminating new hirees, and other economic concessions, such as the elimination of Judicial Hearing Officers. The $170 million cut represents 6.3% of the judiciary budget. There are currently 15,200 non-judicial workers employed by the court system in the state of New York. Rocco Desantis is the president of the New York State Court Clerks Association. In a recent interview, he indicated that the court system was already strained from early retirement and previous budget cuts. He stated, “as a result of positions left unfulfilled from early retirement, there are already long lines at every office that deal with the public and back offices.” He stated, “I am concerned that this is going to make a bad situation worse.”

John Strand of the New York State Court Officers Association recently stated that the projected courthouse cuts will have a severe impact on the operation of court facilities. He doesn’t see how all the current court parts can be kept open with a reduced staff of court officers.

James F.X. Doyle is the President of the New York State County Court Judges Association. In a recent interview, he claimed that there will be inadequate security in the court houses due these layoffs.

Cuts In Court Personnel Unacceptable

The judiciary has traditionally been the poor man in the three branches of government in New York. Judges in New York state have not received a salary increase in more than thirteen years. They’re the poorest paid judges in the United States of America. When you consider that some of these judges live in the most expensive counties in the United States, it helps to explain the horrific conditions that exist in our legal system. The further layoffs of court personnel due to budget cuts will cause our legal system to grind more slowly. Justice delayed is justice denied! The budget cuts forced upon the judiciary by Governor Cuomo are unfair and will have a negative effect on the quality of the legal system in the state of New York!

Fathers’ Rights Lawyer

The legal system is supposed to be gender neutral. Many men involved with litigating matrimonial and family law matters have walked away from the legal system because their rights were not protected and they felt the system was biased against them.

We are fathers’ rights lawyers. We represent fathers in the negotiation of separation agreements. We deal with relocation problems when the custodial parent moves, creating a problem with the father’s visitation. We deal with parental alienation syndrome and the parental alienation by one parent of the other parent to the children. We litigate high net worth divorces and all aspects of equitable distribution in divorce cases. We help our clients obtain divorces under the new no-fault divorce law in the state of New York. We specifically assist fathers in litigating child abuse charges, paternity, spousal maintenance (alimony), child abuse, child neglect, child custody, child visitation, orders of protection and all other issues litigated in divorces in the Supreme Court. If you’re a father and you’ve have concerns concerning your rights being protected, feel free to call us at 1-800-344-6431, 516-561-6645 or 718-350-2802.

The United States Supreme Court recently had before them the case of Camreta v. Green, 131 S. Ct. 456 (2010). In this case, the issue presented was whether the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution requires government officials to obtain a search warrant or parental permission before they can interrogate a suspected child abuse victim. The second issue was whether an official who fails to obtain a search warrant or permission of the parents can be held liable for violation of civil rights laws.

Child Protection Agencies claim that they need to investigate abuse cases without giving prior notification to the possible perpetrators of these acts. In this case, the social worker, Bob Camreta, conducted an interrogation of a child at the child’s school. This was done without a warrant. The United States Court of Appeals for the 9^th Circuit held that this warrantless interrogation violated the Fourth Amendment rights of the child. The court also stated that Mr. Camreta was protected by a qualified immunity from being held personally liable for civil damages under Section 1983 of the Civil Rights Law.

Child Abuse Allegations In New York

Here’s how the system works in New York: Someone files a complaint with the New York State Child Protective Services (CPS). A local investigator comes to the house and insists on seeing the child. If the parent or guardian refuses to let the investigator see the child, the investigator claims he’s going to get a court order. He threatens to take the child away from the parents. Although the Child Protection Agency seeks to protect children, in New York, they often violate the Fourth Amendment rights of the parents and the child.

Fathers’ Rights

We protect fathers’ rights in divorce situations. We litigate spousal maintenance issues (alimony), child support, child custody, child visitation and we deal with the equitable distribution of property issues in divorces. We also negotiate separation agreements on behalf of our clients. Should the mother seek to leave the state with the child, we litigate relocation problems.

When our clients lose their jobs or have reduced income, we bring applications to reduce child support payments. We also educate our clients with regard to the new no-fault divorce law. In contested, nasty divorces, we deal with issues involving parental alienation and parental alienation syndrome caused by one parent making negative statements about the other parent to the children. Should you have a Family Court or divorce issue, feel free to call us for a free consultation at 1-800-344-6431, 516-561-6645 or 718-350-2802.

Judge Greenberg, sitting in the Family Court of Nassau County, rendered a decision on January 21, 2010, dismissing child abuse proceedings against a father. The petition against the father alleged that he had committed sexual offenses regarding his daughter Isabella. The charges alleged he would rub lotion on her, “slap her butt” and “whistle at her.”

The father denied all of the allegations. There was testimony by a psychologist at the time of trial. The psychologist stated that Isabella admitted to lying and sometimes believing her own lies. The psychologist also stated that Isabella had difficulty distinguishing between fantasy and reality.

Sexual Abuse Allegations are Unsupported

Judge Greenberg found the Department of Social Services did not establish that the father had sexually abused his daughter. The court’s decision indicated that Isabella’s statements were motivated by her desire to live on Long Island. The child did not want to move to the father’s residence in Queens. Isabella’s testimony was inconsistent and not credible. The court believed the testimony was an effort to stop the father from being successful in his custody application.

New York Fathers’ Rights Attorney

The law office of Elliot Schlissel litigates fathers’ rights issues. We have extensive experience in handling the following fathers’ rights related matters: divorce; orders of protection; child support; child custody; visitation; spousal maintenance (alimony); child abuse, child neglect; CPS and ACS proceedings; applications to reduce child support; child abuse defense hearings; paternity and no-fault divorce issues. We also litigation equitable distribution matters in divorces and grandparents’ rights issues. Feel free to call us for a free consultation.