People dealing with allegations involving domestic violence, concerning family, as defined under New York law, whether as the victim or the accused, have different forums in New York that they might find handling their case. Family can be blood relations, people with children in common, and people in intimate relationships. …
Most people know what in hand delivery service of process of court papers looks like as they have seen process servers depicted in TV Shows and movies. Courts prefer actual hand delivery of the court papers as that is the surest way to know that someone has received the papers.…
I wear different hats now in my career since I am a litigator, certified mediator, certified collaborative law attorney and a lawyer negotiator. This blog entry will focus on divorce mediation v. divorce litigation as I do both. Overall, my belief is that the couples that I have worked with…
Over time, the role of attorney for the child in custody and parenting time (visitation) cases has evolved and developed in New York. Their name has changed as well since they are properly called attorney for the child(ren) now whereas the job used to be known as “law guardian”. While…
Adult couples involved in romantic relationships in New York, whether opposite sex or same sex, now both have the option to choose to get married in New York or in certain localities enter into a domestic partnership. This blog article will highlight some of the benefits and differences with each.…
Today’s blog will be a break from my typical legal analysis of family law issues. Here I focus on tips, facts and suggestions pertaining to the children of the transitioning families that I have picked up in my time working as a matrimonial, family law attorney and mediator in the…
Let me start this blog by stating that this blog entry is not to be considered tax advice. Everyone is advised to seek the advice of an appropriate tax professional, such as a CPA, regarding tax questions. This blog, however, is intended to identify some issues and language to be…
Last week, I blogged about temporary or pendente lite maintenance. This blog will discuss temporary child support or pendente lite (while the case is pending) child support in New York cases. Pendente lite child support is the child support that is either agreed upon or awarded by a court while a…
The old law in New York for temporary or pendente lite (Latin for while the case is pending) maintenance, prior to the 2010 revisions, was that temporary maintenance was supposed to “tide over” the spouse with less income (the “non-monied” spouse) while the divorce case was ongoing. There was no…
Do divorce filings increase in the New Year? As a family law attorney, I see a general decrease in actual court appearances and new case filings during the latter half of December, but at the same time there are a lot of inquiries and planning for actions that people intend…