New York City

Published on: August 7, 2012

For Custody, Court Looks at Welfare of Children First

by Stephen Bilkis

Jurisdiction is an important issue in child custody hearings. Often the parents of the child live in different court jurisdictions, or even different states. The courts must work with the parents to determine which court system will have jurisdiction over the matters that are involved in each case. In one Suffolk County case, the parents’ divorce was finalized in the Nassau County Family Court in 2002. A New York Family Lawyer said the following that action, the mother was granted primary custody of the child of the union. She relocated to Suffolk County.

Since the time that the divorce was finalized and the mother moved to Suffolk County, the Suffolk County Family Court has handled at least one motion to adjust the visitation schedule that the couple had in place to manage the visitation of the child. In 2008, the father of the child made a motion to the Nassau County Family Court to change primary custody over to him. The mother filed a cross-motion to deny the father’s motion and to have all jurisdiction over future motions transferred to the Suffolk County Family Court. A New York Custody Lawyer said the mother maintains that the father has moved to Suffolk County in the years since the divorce was finalized. That means that at the time of this particular motion, the mother, father, and the child are all living in Suffolk County and no one is living in Nassau County.

The Supreme Court reviewed the motions and determined that the proper venue of any motions in this case would be the Suffolk County Family Court. They contend that since all concerned parties are living in Suffolk County, it only makes sense that the court system to handle their case should also be Suffolk County. The court also appointed a Law Guardian for the child.

Published on: August 5, 2012

A Child’s Relationship with Both Parents Important in Custody Issues

by Stephen Bilkis

Whenever a couple faces a divorce, they must also face custody decisions that involve the children of the marriage. A New York Family Lawyer said the love that a parent has for their child is the greatest love that exists on this planet. To require that the time that they spend with that child be split with another person is heart wrenching. This is especially true if the child is very small. It is not natural for a parent to spend time away from their child. Emotions run high and people who at one time loved one another enough to create a child, become mortal enemies in the quest to have all of the time that they can get with that child. Child custody disputes change people forever.

The court system of New York recognizes this problem. They strive to ensure that the welfare and security of the child is the most important consideration. The court appoints an attorney for the child or children that serves as a buffer for the children and the court. This attorney listens to the child and addresses his or her concerns during the custody hearing. It is the objective of the court to ensure that the children are considered. If the parent that the child is spending most of the time with is not given primary custody, it can have devastating effects on the psyche of the child. Toward this goal, the court strives to create an environment where the child’s life and lifestyle is altered as little as possible by the decision of their parents to obtain a divorce.

The court system also strives to ensure that the child is encouraged to maintain a nurturing relationship with the non-custodial parent as well. A New York Custody Lawyer studies in recent years have demonstrated that children who are not allowed to foster a nurturing relationship with both parents whether divorced or not, do not have the benefits that are afforded to other children. When one parent is so bitter toward the other parent that they wage war on them through the children, the courts of New York will step in to remove custody from that parent. In the courts of New York, the custodial parent is entrusted with the difficult task of acting like an adult when it comes to handling the relationships of the child and the other parent. It is a sorry affair when a parent attempts to turn the child against the other parent in a divorce. A divorce is an action that is taken by the parents usually based only on the relationship that the parents have with each other.

Published on: August 2, 2012

The Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) filed an abuse petition

by Stephen Bilkis

The Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) filed an abuse petition, pursuant to Family Court Act against the respondent mother and the person legally responsible for the subject children, respondent R., with regard to the children of the respondent mother.

A New York Family Lawyer said ACS alleged in their petition that a fifteen-month-old child was in the care and custody of respondent R. and that the toddler was returned to the respondent mother with two black eyes and swelling to his forehead. It was alleged that the toddler and his eleven-year-old sibling left Brooklyn with respondent R. to go to his home in New Jersey for the weekend. Later that same day, the younger child was brought to the hospital and was pronounced dead on arrival. Significantly, despite her brother and sister accompanying her to New Jersey when she learned of her child’s death, respondent mother chose to spend the night with respondent R. in his home, with eleven-year-old Sheila who was present at the time of Angel’s death, knowing R. was a suspect for the homicide of her son that day.

ACS further alleged that despite knowing of these injuries and even documenting these injuries with a camera on her cell phone, the respondent mother failed to seek any medical attention. A New York Custody Lawyer said the ACS effectuated an emergency removal of the surviving children upon the death of the toddler. Subsequently, respondent mother gave birth to another baby. ACS sought for the child’s custody. A New York Custody Lawyer said the Court determined that the temporary removal of the infant was necessary to avoid imminent risk to this child’s life and health.

Published on: July 31, 2012

The Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) filed an abuse petition

by Stephen Bilkis

The Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) filed an abuse petition, pursuant to Family Court Act against the respondent mother and the person legally responsible for the subject children, respondent R., with regard to the children of the respondent mother.

A New York Family Lawyer said that ACS alleged in their petition that a fifteen-month-old child was in the care and custody of respondent R. and that the toddler was returned to the respondent mother with two black eyes and swelling to his forehead. It was alleged that the toddler and his eleven-year-old sibling left Brooklyn with respondent R. to go to his home in New Jersey for the weekend. Later that same day, the younger child was brought to the hospital and was pronounced dead on arrival.

Significantly, a New York Custody Lawyer said that despite her brother and sister accompanying her to New Jersey when she learned of her child’s death, respondent mother chose to spend the night with respondent R. in his home, with eleven-year-old Sheila who was present at the time of Angel’s death, knowing R. was a suspect for the homicide of her son that day.

Published on: July 25, 2012

Father Petitions Court to Take Child Out of the Country

by Stephen Bilkis

When child custody issues involve a parent who is not native to the United States, the court is forced to deal with additional issues that are not common among domestic cases. Many countries do not respect divorce proceeding rulings from outside of their borders. A New York Custody Lawyer said that means that it is unfortunately fairly common for one parent to abscond with a child to a different country. It becomes very difficult for the other parent to regain visitation with that child when they have been taken overseas. In order to prevent this type of parental abduction, courts work to create reciprocal agreements with other countries. However, not all countries are willing to comply.

Patriarchal countries are often non- compliant when faced with the concept that the mother of a child has a right to the child against the will of the father. In cases of that nature, it can become almost impossible for the mother to obtain the child. For this reason, some mothers will actively take steps to prevent a father from a patriarchal country from removing the child from the United States. In one case of this type, the mother refused repeatedly to obtain a passport for her minor child to accompany her father outside of the United States. A New York Family Lawyer said the father made an application to the court to have the mother obtain a passport for the child and to enable him to take the child back to his homeland to meet his family overseas. There is no other implication that the father might be a threat to abscond with the child.

However, it is important to ask why the mother was resistant to the notion of the father taking the child overseas. The mother is more familiar with the ability of the father to abscond with the child than the court is. A Nassau County Family Lawyer said he must assume that she presented more evidence about her concern for allowing the father to take the child overseas than is recorded in the documents of the case. However, one must also assume that the court heard both sides of the argument and was able to review the risk involved that the father will not return to the jurisdiction with the child.

Published on: July 22, 2012

Court Considers Special Needs of Infant in Custody Battle

by Stephen Bilkis

The New York child custody laws are designed to ensure that the rights of the children are protected as related to visitation and custody. In general, a parent is not restricted from visitation with their children as long as they have not harmed the children or have been found to be an unfit parent based on some other action or neglect on their part. Even in most cases of child neglect, the court will typically encourage visitation between the children and the parents so that a positive relationship can be fostered between them.

When a divorce decree determines which parent that a child will reside with most of the time, they take into account many different factors. Among these factors, are how old the child is and the relationship that the child has with each parent. Historically, a very young child has been determined to be better off with its mother. However, in some cases, where the mother has been determined to be unfit, even a very young baby may be given over to the custody of its father to receive better care. The court makes these determinations based upon what is best for the child and not necessarily what is best for the parents. A New York Family Lawyer said the court places the needs of the child paramount to the needs of the parent. In one case, a father was granted full custody of a very small baby in the course of a divorce decree. The mother appealed the custody appointment because she was a fit mother and there was no legal reason to prevent her from being with her baby.

The courts reviewed the case and discovered that she was correct. It is not clear what the circumstances were that caused the initial trial court to find that the infant would be better off with her father, but the Supreme Court determined that the original trial court was in error. There was no evidence presented that demonstrated that the mother was unfit to handle the role of parenthood. Further, it is usually important to keep a mother and very young infant together for the welfare of the infant. An NYC Family Lawyer said the original trial court was from a foreign court and the Supreme Court who overturned the verdict determined that they had erred in their judgment of the situation. A child of tender years needs to be with its mother.

Published on: July 21, 2012

Court Discusses Custody Decision

by Stephen Bilkis

In order for a court to modify any order previously enacted by that court or another, the petitioner/complainant is responsible to demonstrate that there has been a significant change in circumstances that would warrant the court to take action to modify the agreement. A significant change is something more than just a desire to change the circumstances of the decree. For instance, if a custodial parent is arrested, it may be important to modify the elements of the decree to change the primary custody location to the non-custodial parent who is not incarcerated.

A New York Family Lawyer said there are many situations that can provoke a change in the circumstances enough to warrant a finding to change the decree. The most common changes are those in residences. When two parents share custody of a child and they both reside in close proximity, things usually go fairly smoothly. However, if one of those parents move to a different state, the other parent is likely to file for a change in the original decree based on a significant change in circumstances. Sharing custody of a child locally is easy. Sharing custody of a child from different states can often pose a financial hardship to the parents involved in a significant manner. It then falls to the court to determine what if any changes need to be made to the original divorce decree to accommodate the changes in life situations.

When a custodial parent loses a job and source of income so that they are unable or unwilling to support the child on their own, the family may resort to a change in the custody arrangement through the court system in order for the child to reside with the parent who is most capable of caring for them. Severe illness of one parent can also be taken into consideration as a change of situation significant enough to cause the court to act on changing the original court ordered decree.

Published on: June 24, 2012

Court Discusses Modification of Visitation Schedule

by Stephen Bilkis

A married couple who resided in New York filed for a divorce and was granted a decree of divorce in January 18, 1980. The decree or divorce granted the custody of their common child to the wife while giving the husband a visitation schedule.

A New York Family Lawyer said the father took full advantage of his visitation rights and cultivated a good relationship with their daughter despite the divorce. The child also began a close relationship with her grandparents on her mother’s and father’s side.

Sometime in 1987, the mother applied for a modification of the visitation schedule in the divorce decree. The mother claimed that she has obtained employment in Tennessee and would like to relocate there with her child.

Published on: June 22, 2012

Does Re-Marriage Justify Change in Custody?

by Stephen Bilkis

A couple was married in New York sometime on April 7, 1979. They had a daughter who was born on November 28, 1980. A New York Family Lawyer said tht two years after their daughter was born, the woman sought a divorce from her husband. The woman was granted custody of the child while the divorce case was being heard.

In February 24, 1983, the mother and father made oral stipulations where the parties agreed that their daughter will remain with the mother and the father will have liberal visitation rights.

The order of divorce was honored by the mother and the father except for some instances when the mother took her daughter to the Bahamas for a vacation in 1985. A New York Custody Lawyer said while on vacation there, the mother met a Canadian who was also divorced and had two sons. The Canadian was a resident of Montreal where he had a business.

Published on: June 20, 2012

Court Decides Custody of Mixed Race Child

by Stephen Bilkis

A Caucasian woman married an African-American man on December 5, 1973. They had a daughter. The woman filed for divorce on the ground that her husband was physically abusing her and that he had extra-marital affairs with other women. A New York Custody Lawyer said she then asked the family court for custody over her child during the pendency of the divorce proceedings. She also asked for child support and for possession of the family home.

The husband made counterclaims against his wife. He charged her with neglect, physical and verbal abuse as well as abandoning their home and taking their child from him.

The family court granted custody to the mother during the pendency of the divorce proceedings and also ordered child support to be paid to her. During the pendency of the divorce, the father was to have visitation rights. Once during the divorce proceedings, the child was taken by her father on one of his visits. He never returned the child and the woman asked for an order of protection against the father. The mother then exerted efforts to find her daughter. She succeeded in discovering her husband’s whereabouts and the mother went to San Francisco, California to take custody over her own child and brought her back with her to New York.