Parenting plans are a modern concept which are designed to allow both parents to have significant impact on their children's lives. Parenting plans are utilized in cases where the parents have joint custody of their children. Well drawn up parenting plans deal with major decisions concerning children's upbringing and in addition can have a positive … [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...]
Divorce and College Tuition Expenses for Children (Part 1)
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 … [Read more...]
New York Declines Jurisdiction in Custody Cases
A father brought a custody petition in New York State. The next day, the mother who resided in Texas brought a custody petition for the parties child in Texas. There was litigation to determine whether New York or Texas would be the appropriate jurisdiction to determine who receives custody of the child. The Parties Were Divorced In Michigan The … [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...]
President Obama Focuses on Women’s Rights Issues
President Obama has recently spoken with regard to women’s rights issues. Women today are more likely to graduate from college than men. Statistics show that they still earn less money, on average, than men. Studies also show that the financial circumstances of women are generally not up to the same standards as that of men. The President … [Read more...]
Six-year-old’s Video Testimony Rejected by Family Court Judge
Judge Richardson-Mendelsohn, a Family Court judge sitting in Queens County, New York, has refused a request to allow a six-year-old boy to testify via a closed circuit television hookup in a Family Court proceeding seeking an order of protection against his uncle. Z. Shareef, the boy's mother, had brought a proceeding in the Queens Family Court … [Read more...]
Divorce Fails, Lack of Proof of Sexual Abandonment
In September of 2010, Justice Bruno, a New York State Supreme Court Judge sitting in Nassau County, heard testimony with regard to fault allegations concerning the issue of constructive abandonment in a divorce proceeding. Constructive abandonment is when one party to a marriage refuses to have sexual relations with his or her spouse for a period … [Read more...]
The Cruise From Hell
In November of 2010, 4,500 passengers embarked on a cruise on the Carnival Splendor. The cruise ended-up being a horrible experience for everyone involved. At or around dawn, many passengers awoke to a shaking of the entire ship. When they went out to the hallway, it was filled with smoke. Crew members told passengers to go to the life boats. … [Read more...]
Is Marriage Becoming Obsolete?
A recent study found that four out of ten Americans think marriage is obsolete. This same study also showed that attitudes have been changing concerning gay relationships and gay marriage. Today, an unwed couple can be the definition of a family situation. Since the 1970's, there has been a significant increase in the number of Americans who … [Read more...]
