Articles Posted in Nassau

A New York Family Lawyer said in this Child support case, the Court posed the question to counsel, as to whether a hearing on alienation was necessary, in view of a prior hearing held by this Court. The Court set a briefing schedule for the parties. The Mother has timely filed her memorandum of law as the proponent that the question of alienation must be heard by this Court, at a hearing. The Father has submitted no opposition whatsoever. The genesis of the Mother’s instant application is that after this Court’s decision previously rendered, she must continue to make payment of the existing order of support; and she wishes to vacate that order upon the basis of alleged alienation of the children.

A New York Child Custody Lawyer said that it is not clear as to whether the Mother alleges that alienation is a result of the Father’s actions, or is a result of the actions of the child/children themselves. Paragraph 8 of the Mother’s memorandum of law states that in this Court’s decision upon the prior matter, the Court only evaluated whether visitation would be contrary to the children’s best interests and thus detrimental to their welfare in determining what is in the children’s best interests, the Court did not undergo an analysis of the cause of why visitation is detrimental to the children. The Court never addressed whether the children have alienated themselves from the mother.

A Nassau County Family Lawyer said the Mother continues in Paragraph 9 of her memorandum, that the issue of alienation is still ripe for litigation, the court has not yet addressed the issue of fault and alienation in determining whether or not the children should have visitation with the Mother. The court only concluded that such visitation would be contrary to the children’s best interests, but did not determine whether the negative effect was caused by alienation.

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In these private placement adoption proceedings, infants were placed with prospective adoptive parents in violation of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children and New York’s laws requiring certification of prospective adoptive parents as “qualified adoptive parents”.

Inexplicably, the administrator of the Interstate Compact gave approval for the placements.

A New York Family Lawyer said that, in the first case, petitioners hired a California attorney and two New York attorneys to assist them in attempting to adopt a child. On the advice of their first New York attorney, they caused a pre-placement investigation to be undertaken in August, 1990, and a certified social worker completed the investigation of them that same month. Petitioners retained present counsel in November, 1990. Although present counsel advised them to initiate New York’s certification process immediately, they waited until May 21, 1991 to file a petition for certification. They submitted with the petition a copy of the 1990 pre-placement investigation, a financial statement showing them to own more than 5 million dollars in property, and a copy of their 1989 tax return showing them to have an income of $1,500,000. The tax return lists as residents of the State of Connecticut. The date the certification petition was filed, the court ordered a report on them from the Statewide Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment.

A New York Family Lawyer said the parties, in this matter, shared custody of their children. Physical custody was awarded to the mother, subject to the father’s right to visitation as set forth in their separation agreement which was incorporated but did not merge with the judgment of their divorce. The separation agreement provided that the father would have mid-week overnight visitation with the children.

Almost one year after, a New York Custody Lawyer said the mother married another man. After the marriage the mother, her new husband, her children, and eventually the two children from the second union lived together in a house owned by the man’s parents. An increase in property taxes led the man’s parents to decide to sell the house. The man’s parents offered to assist with housing expenses if the man and the mother decided to relocate to the Albany area.

From then on, and as a result of the said conversation with his parents, the man began to search for a new job, in an effort to effectuate the said relocation. Afterward, the man was offered a job with a waste and recycling company in the Albany area. Even if it is the mother’s contention that she discussed the possibility of relocation with her former husband, there is some argument as to whether the father of the children initially voiced any objection.

A New York Family Lawyer said that on the night of 16 October 1985 police officers responded to a telephone call for emergency assistance made by the victim Mrs. A. When they entered Mrs. A’s apartment, they found Mrs. A and her husband, the defendant. Mrs. A, although conscious and alert, had been stabbed repeatedly and was bleeding heavily. The defendant, while not himself, lay unconscious upon the couple’s bed, wounded and covered with blood. Open prescription bottles were found in the kitchen. The windows to the apartment had been shut and the gas jets in the kitchen turned on. Mrs. A was taken to the hospital where she died of her wounds the following day. The defendant was also hospitalized, and although he remained comatose for more than two days he was eventually revived and was charged with his wife’s murder.

The defendant admits to inflicting injuries upon his wife but claims to have acted while his capacity for self-control was overborne by extreme emotional disturbance. In support of this contention, the defendant at his non-jury trial called two witnesses, his psychiatrist, Dr. A, who last saw him in treatment some nine days before the incident, and Dr. B, a court-appointed forensic psychiatrist.

A New York Child Custody Lawyer said the Dr. A testified that the defendant and his wife first visited her office on July 1983. Defendant complained of depression, withdrawal and inability to work, difficulty sleeping and nightmares. Dr. A finds defendant paranoid and persecutory. She prescribed sleep medications for both defendant and his wife. On early January 1984, Dr. A elicited from defendant that he was hyperactive and dyslexic as a child. He had a hard time keeping a job as an adult. Dr. A prescribed him anti-depressants. At the end of the same month, the defendant was observed to be all nervous and all afraid of a nervous breakdown. He picked and ate his hand. He was given Sinequan. On May of the same year, defendant claims that everyone was avoiding him and that he had nightmares at night so he was prescribed with increased dosage of sleep medication. On January 1985, Dr. A observed defendant to be acutely depressed and very anxious and panicky. Dr. A then prescribed tranquilizer, Atarax and sleep medication. On September, 1985, defendant was trembling and seemed to be deteriorating. He was very anxious and panicky and showed signs of panic paranoia and manifested his contemplations of suicide. On the 29th of September, his condition worsened and was afraid that he will kill himself. It was at this time when Dr. A learned that in his early adulthood he got hospitalized at a Psychiatric Center for one and a half years. Dr. A at this point diagnosed him with schizophrenia and prescribed Haldol, a drug for psychosis. On his October 9 visit, defendant was extremely anxious and he was “eating his hands all bloody”. Haldol medication was then increased. On their visit on October 4, he recounts a nightmare involving the Queen of Iran and her best friend where she was slicing her back all bloody. Mrs. A at this point was very worried of a breakdown so Haldol prescription was increased yet again. On October 7, days before the fateful event, defendant improved in that even if he was still biting his hand, he was no longer trembling and was more subdued.

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