One of the most widely held beliefs concerning individuals who file bankruptcy is they will never be able to obtain credit again. This is simply untrue. Although a bankruptcy filing will be maintained on your credit report for 10 years, most individuals who file bankruptcy can rehabilitate their credit within 18 months. A debtor who files for … [Read more...]
Borrowing Against Retirement Accounts
When Americans face financial stress they turn to their retirement accounts for liquid assets. Pensions, 401K plans and 403B plans are where Americans are turning to for quick infusions of cash. In this past year borrowing from retirement accounts hit new highs. It is estimated that more than 15% of all individuals who have money in retirement … [Read more...]
NYC Child Welfare Workers Charged with Negligent Homicide
In March of 2011, two former New York City child care workers were charged with negligent homicide related to a girl's death. The girl was four years old at the time of her death. The child care workers had a responsibility to monitor her family's situation. Damon Adams was a child welfare worker who worked for the Administration for Children's … [Read more...]
Modification of Criminal Law
DWI's Generally driving while intoxicated convictions (DWI's) are not subject to being expunged. Instead, in some circumstances these records can be sealed. We can also obtain for our clients waivers of civil disabilities for individuals convicted of DWI's. This allows them to obtain commercial licenses in the future or have their commercial … [Read more...]
Retirement: What if You Haven’t Saved any Money?
Retirement is supposed to be a time of relaxation and enjoyment for Americans. The current economic situation in the United States may require a re-thinking of retirement issues. A recent study has shown that one in four individuals approaching retirement have saved nothing for their retirement years! The Employee Benefit Research Institute … [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...]
Loss of License for Talking on a Cell Phone
It is against the law to speak on a cell phone while driving a motor vehicle in the state of New York. This past summer, Justice Edmead, sitting in the Supreme Court located in New York County, suspended a driver's license for thirty-one days when she was found guilty of talking on her cell phone. The defendant argued that the courts … [Read more...]
Family Court Restrained From Holding Husband in Contempt for Non-payment of Spousal Maintenance
Mr. and Mrs. Vandyke were married for thirty-five years. The marriage ended in 2007. Mr. Vandyke was supposed to pay his wife $400.00 in spousal maintenance (alimony) per week until she reached the age of sixty-two. Mr. Vandyke failed to make his spousal maintenance payments. A hearing was held before Supreme Magistrate Rika Murray in the Family … [Read more...]
Prison Gone Wild
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is conducting an investigation into a privately run prison in Idaho. The FBI has received a video showing prison guards watching an inmate being brutally beaten. The guards did not intervene in the beating. The beating stopped when the attacker decided he was finished beating his fellow inmate to a … [Read more...]
Non-Attorney Felon Helps Lawyer
In October of 2003, Kenneth Stevens was charged with robbing one Citibank branch and three branches of Chase Manhattan bank in New York. Mr. Stevens's modus operandi in each of the robberies was to give the teller a note demanding money. The note also stated that he had a bomb with him. The fourth robbery was his last one. Several blocks from … [Read more...]
