Articles Posted in Brooklyn

A New York Family Lawyer said the plaintiff (“Wife”) moves by Order to Show Cause seeking an Order a) holding Defendant (“Husband”) in contempt of Court for his willful failure to comply with the Judgment of Divorce entered in this action, and for his willful refusal to comply with the Judgment of this Court to pay the sum of $43,351.87, together with interest thereon in the sum of $6,394.40, and for the failure to comply with the terms of the So-Ordered Stipulation of the parties; and b) fining and/or imprisoning Husband for such contempt.

A New York Custody lawyer said that the parties were married on November 20, 1987, and there are three children of the marriage. The parties’ marriage was dissolved pursuant to the Judgment of Divorce, which incorporated but did not merge with a Stipulation of Settlement (the “Stipulation”) which states in pertinent part that: The Husband shall pay to the Wife, as and for child support, the sum of $1,785.0 per month. The parties agree that the child support payments will be made through the Nassau County Support Collection Unit.

Pursuant to the Order of the Judge, the Court ordered pendente lite relief awarding to the Wife the sum of $1,400.00 per month temporary maintenance, as well as child support in the sum of Two Thousand ($2,000.00) Dollars per month. The award was retroactive to the date of service, which was July 18, 2006.

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A New York Family Lawyer said in a matrimonial action in which the parties were divorced by judgment, the complainant former husband appeals, as limited by his brief, from so much of an order of the Nassau County Supreme Court as granted the defendant former wife’s motion to hold him in contempt for failure to comply with the maintenance and child support provisions in the parties’ separation agreement, which was incorporated by reference into the judgment of divorce, directed his incarceration for a period of 90 days in the Nassau County Correctional Facility, permitted him to purge himself of the contempt by paying the sum of $175,000 to the former wife, and denied his cross application for a downward modification of his maintenance and child support obligations.

The appeal from so much of the order as committed the former husband to a term of incarceration of 90 days in the Nassau County Correctional Facility is dismissed as academic, without costs or disbursements, as the period of incarceration has expired; and it is further ordered that the order is reversed insofar as reviewed, on the law, without costs or disbursements, motion is denied, and the matter is remitted to the Nassau County Supreme Court for a new determination, after a hearing, of the cross application.

A New York Custody Lawyer said the Supreme Court erred in finding that the former husband was in contempt. In the absence of proof of an ability to pay, an order of commitment for willful violation of judgment in a matrimonial action may not stand. The record fails to support a finding that the former husband had the ability to pay his maintenance and child support obligations as set out in the parties’ separation agreement.

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A New York Family Lawyer said that, this is a proceeding pursuant to CPLR article 78, Inter alia, to review a determination of the respondent State Commissioner dated May 15, 1978 and made after a statutory fair hearing, which affirmed a determination of the local agency that petitioner had willfully withheld information as to a change in income.

A Nassau Divorce Lawyer said that, in another action for a divorce and ancillary relief, the plaintiff appeals from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Westchester County, entered December 9, 2008, which, after a nonjury trial, inter alia, failed to direct the defendant to pay child support arrears, failed to award her maintenance, and failed to equitably distribute the value of the defendant’s medical license.

The issue in this case is whether defendant is entitled to give child support.

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A New York Family Lawyer said this is an action for a divorce and ancillary relief wherein the husband appeals, as limited by his brief, from so much of a judgment of the Supreme Court, Nassau County, entered 21 December 2005, as, upon a decision of the same court dated 16 August 2005, made after a nonjury trial, awarded the wife a divorce on the ground of cruel and inhuman treatment, directed him to pay child support in the sum of $2,107 per month, directed him to pay child support arrears in the sum of $61,420, distributed 60% of the equity in the marital residence to the wife and 40% of the equity to him, and directed him to pay the sum of $39,732 to the wife’s counsel.

A New York Custody Lawyer said the court orders modification, on the law, of the judgment by deleting subparagraph (h) of the fifth decretal paragraph thereof directing the husband to pay child support arrears in the sum of $61,420, and by deleting the eighth decretal paragraph thereof directing the husband to pay child support in the sum of $2,107 per month. As modified by the court, the judgment is affirmed insofar as appealed from, without costs or disbursements and the matter is remitted to the Supreme Court, Nassau County for further proceedings.

A Brooklyn Family Lawyer said the court further ordered that the husband shall continue to pay child support in the sum of $2,107 per month until the Supreme Court, Kings County makes a new determination of child support and child support arrears.

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A New York Family Lawyer said that, in this proceeding filed pursuant to Family Court Act (FCA) Article 3, the New York City Commissioner of Social Services (CSS) seeks to vacate an order of disposition of June 17, 1996 which placed the respondent with CSS following an adjudication of the respondent as a juvenile delinquent and directed CSS “to explore forthwith and attempt to certify as an authorized placement the Tampa Bay Academy of Riverview, Florida.”

A New York Custody Lawyer said, the order further stated that “Once Tampa Bay Academy is so certified, the respondent should be transferred from his current foster home to Tampa Bay Academy forthwith. In a separate proceeding filed in Bronx Family Court pursuant to FCA Article 10, the respondent herein had been adjudicated an abandoned child and had been discharged to CSS. One week later, while living in Monroe County in CSS child custody, the respondent made an admission in Monroe County Family Court that he had committed acts which if he were an adult would constitute the crimes of Attempted Sodomy in the First Degree and Sexual Abuse in the First Degree. A finding of fact based on that admission was made on February 9, 1996 by Monroe County Family Court, which then transferred the proceeding to Bronx Family Court for a dispositional hearing. See FCA § 302.3(4).

A Brooklyn Family Lawyer said that, the dispositional hearing was continued in Bronx Family Court over seven court appearances. (So-called “speedy disposition” was waived.) On June 17, 1996, the Court determined that the least restrictive dispositional alternative consistent with the needs and best interests of the respondent and the community’s need for protection was placement and that placement with CSS was the appropriate placement. See FCA §§ 352.2, 353.3. (By that date, the proceeding had been transferred to New York County Family Court, since the Family Court Judge presiding over the proceeding in Bronx Family Court had been transferred to New York County. An exhaustive national placement exploration was conducted for this respondent, who is deaf, communicates by sign language, and exhibits psychological pathology and sexually deviant behavior. Few appropriate placements presented themselves. The Tampa Bay Academy, however, provides all of the special services that the respondent requires. The presentment agency and the respondent consented to the Court’s June 17, 1996 dispositional order.

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In this Custody action, the issue involved is of import not only because it appears to lack any precedent, but even more so, because it goes to the very heart of the present and future effectiveness of the forensic and probation referral procedure utilized by the Nassau County Supreme Court as an aid in the determination of contested custody actions.

A New York Family Lawyer said that pursuant to this procedure the court, with the consent of the parties and counsel, ordered a forensic evaluation of the parties and infant issue through the Nassau County Department of Mental Health, Division of Forensic Services, and a probation report through the Probation Department of Nassau County.

Thereafter, a New York Child Custody Lawyer said in deeming the recommendations contained in the reports to be adverse to the interest of his client, counsel for the defendant-wife referred her to a private psychiatrist for examination and evaluation.

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In this case, defendant is charged with one (1) count of violating Vehicle and Traffic Law §1192(4), Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs as an Unclassified Misdemeanor.

A New York Family Lawyer said that in October 2005, a civilian witness called 911 from his mobile phone and reported that he observed another vehicle operating in an erratic manner on Wantagh Avenue, in Levittown, County of Nassau. He pulled the other vehicle over and waited for the Police to arrive. A Police officer, a Sergeant Shea of the Nassau County Police Department arrived at the scene shortly thereafter. He testified that he spoke with the civilian witness and the defendant and noticed that defendant appeared nervous and disheveled. He also testified that the defendant was unsteady on her feet and seemed impaired in some way. As a result of the defendant’s appearance, the Sgt. requested that the defendant submit to Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (S.F.S.T.). The Sgt. explained that S.F.S.T. are divided attention tests which are used nationwide by Police departments to determine if someone is intoxicated or impaired by drugs. After observing the defendant’s performance on the S.F.S.T., the Sgt. arrested the defendant for Driving While Intoxicated and brought her to the Central Testing Section of the Nassau County Police Department in Mineola for processing and testing.

A New York Child Custody Lawyer said the Sgt., upon arriving at Central Testing he requested that the defendant submit to a chemical test of her breath to determine the level of alcohol in her blood. The defendant consented to the breath test and the breath test was administered to the defendant. He requested that the defendant submit to a urine test to determine what, if any, drugs were in her blood. The defendant consented to the urine test. The defendant went into a bathroom with a female Police Officer and an empty urine container. When the defendant came out of the bathroom, the urine container was filled with a liquid. The Sgt. testified that he sealed the urine container with red evidence tape and affixed to it a label with the defendant’s name. The urine container was later brought by Sgt. Shea to the Police lab and locked in the Toxicology refrigerator.

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A New York Family Lawyer said that, in a guardianship proceeding pursuant to Mental Hygiene Law article 81, in which the successor guardian of the person and property of the incapacitated person moved to settle his final account, the successor guardian appeals, as limited by his brief, from so much of an order of the Supreme Court, Queens County, entered January 4, 2011, as, upon judicially settling his final account, after a hearing, imposed a surcharge against him in the sum of $123,506.59 and denied him commissions and an attorney’s fee, and the Public Administrator of Queens County, cross-appeals, as limited by her brief, from so much of the same order as denied her request, made in connection with her objections to the final account, to include 9% interest on the sum surcharged.

A New York Child Custody Lawyer said that, on July 23, 2004, the attorney (hereinafter the appellant) was appointed the successor guardian of the person and property of the who was then a 76-year-old incapacitated person. In April 2007, the appellant appointed his wife, as the incapacitated person’s “nurse geriatric care manager.” The appellant’s wife provided geriatric care management services to the former through a solely-owned company named Family Care Connections, LLC (hereinafter Family Care), which she formed in 2007. Family Care received total payments from the appellant, as Albert K.’s successor guardian, in the aggregate sum of $111,881.98.

A Queens Full Custody Lawyer said that, in an order dated October 13, 2009, the Supreme Court confirmed a report of the appointed court examiner regarding the appellant’s accounts, and directed the appellant to appear at a hearing to address the payments made to Family Care on the incapacitated person’s behalf and, inter alia, whether the appellant should be surcharged for such payments. At the hearing, the appellant’s wife testified about her credentials and experience, and described the services she provided to the incapacitated person. At his home in April 2007, this included managing and training full-time health care aides, until he was hospitalized in October 2007. Although the incapacitated person never returned home after his initial hospitalization in October 2007, and received full-time care at the various facilities where he subsequently resided, the appellant’s continued to provide him with, among other things, full-time health care aides until he died in a nursing home on July 29, 2009.

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