In divorce and Family Court litigation involving custody and spending parenting time with children, sometimes one parent seeks to alienate the children from the other. God gives each child two parents. A parent who estranges the children from the other parent for selfish, inappropriate and/or vindictive purposes, doesn't understand the damage they … [Read more...]
Parental Alienation of Children
Parental alienation of children is now recognized by the Courts in New York to be detrimental to the best interest of children. When one parent alienates the children from another parent he or she is simply hurting the children. Each child has two parents and each of the parents adds to the quality of the human being the child will … [Read more...]
Divorce and College Tuition Expenses for Children (Part 2)
State University of New York (SUNY) At this point in the discussion (refer to yesterday's post for "Part 1" of this article), the attorney for one of the parties usually suggests the parents' exposure for payment of college expenses should be limited to a "SUNY CAP". The SUNY CAP is defined as either the cost of sending the children to one of … [Read more...]
Mother Unfit to Obtain Custody: Father Awarded Permanent Sole Custody of Daughters
Justice MacKenzi, sitting in the Supreme Court in Suffolk County, awarded a father permanent sole and legal custody of his two daughters. There had previously been a temporary custody order in this case. There were allegations that the mother had engaged in parental alienation of the parties four children against the father. The evidence showed … [Read more...]
Joint Custody Unworkable
Acting Supreme Court Justice Neary, sitting in Westchester County, found that a one week on, one week off joint custody arrangement between a father and mother was unworkable. He also found that this arrangement was disruptive to the children's lives. Justice Neary ordered a hearing to determine who should receive custody of the children. In … [Read more...]
Father’s Conduct Not Contemptuous
A proceeding was brought by a mother in Nassau County Supreme Court by Judge Falanga to hold her children’s father in civil contempt. The mother alleged the father, who was awarded custody of their child, had refused to make reasonable accommodations related to her Orthodox Jewish religious practices. She argued that her Orthodox Jewish observence … [Read more...]
Governor Cuomo Slashes NY Judiciary Budget by $170 Million
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 … [Read more...]
Interrogation of Child Abuse Victims
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. … [Read more...]
Father in Jail Trumps Custody Order. Mother can Leave the State.
Last March, Judge Posner, sitting in the Family Court of Duchess County, ruled that a woman whose ex-husband had been in and out of jail since approximately 2003, and in addition had alcohol related problems, could leave the state with her nine-year-old son. She could take this action in spite of the fact that she had signed a custody order barring … [Read more...]
Fathers’ Rights Issues, Child Support and Visitation
If you are obligated to make child support payments and your spouse refuses to give you visitation, can you stop making these child support payments? The answer to this question is no. A spouse who has child support financial obligations must make these payments whether or not he or she has access to the child for visitation. It takes a court order … [Read more...]