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If you and your partner have been hoping to have a baby, then the potential new law in New York could be the answer. After all, there are plenty of reasons why a couple might be unable toconceive a child on their own. Some people experience issues in conceiving, while same-sex partners are forced to seek out alternative options to the traditional method.  Adoption is often the answer.

For many, surrogacy can seem like the simplest way to create a family. However, the truth is that this process isn’t nearly as straightforward as it might seem. Not only is paying for surrogacy incredibly expensive, but the legal guidelines currently in place within New York mean that couples could be penalized for entering into a contract with a surrogate.  The article by Sheryl F. Colb in Verdict, Legal Analysis and Commentary from Justia on November 8, 2017 provides a thorough analysis of the topic.  This blog summarizes and in spots supplements the article

Understanding Surrogacy Law in New York

From a medical perspective, there are two types of surrogacy that can be considered by those searching for alternative methods of conception. Traditional surrogates are women who are inseminated with sperm to fertilize their own egg. This means that the resulting child is biologically related to the surrogate parent. On the other hand, “gestational” surrogates are implanted with an embryo that is created in a lab using the egg and sperm of the intended parents. In the case of a gestational surrogacy, the surrogate is not related to the child. Continue reading ›

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When parents decide to bring an end to their relationships together or to their marriage in divorce, there areseveral complicated concerns that they’ll need to think about. Just one of those issues, involves how parenting time and custody should be handled.  When a court needs to decide the issues the court will look at best interests of the children.  Sometimes, parents can simply come to terms about child custody and parenting times on their own, through the process of negotiations through their child custody lawyers, mediation, or collaborative law. However, as a family law attorney, I’ve also seen many instances wherein parents have needed to turn to the help of the court to determine how a child’s care should be divided between spouses.

One common issue that can cause complications in deciding how a child’s custody and parenting time should be managed, is the presence of drugs, alcohol, or issues with sobriety in the lifestyles of one of the parents involved in the divorce. If a parent is known to have issues with sobriety, then it may be the court struggles to determine whether exposure to that parent is in the best interests of the child. Sometimes, visitation may be limited to “supervised” visitation, depending on whether or not the court believes that unsupervised visitation might harm the child in some way.  But also getting sober can be a significant positive to allow for a custody and parenting time order to be revisited.  Continue reading ›

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The process of divorce isn’t just complicated because it creates a lot of uncomfortable emotions for the people involved.While the stress, sadness, and anger that can emerge during the divorce process can be difficult to manage for some, another important thing to remember is that it’s crucial to ensure you’ve covered all the different elements that you need to think about as a divorce takes place. Using an alternative resolution process like mediation can help minimize the emotional turmoil by avoiding an adversarial process. In mediation, like any process though, parties will need to consider how they’re going to manage child custody and visitation agreements, while others will need to think about how they can address the equitable distribution of debts and assets between both parties.

As a divorce attorney, child custody lawyer, and an experienced mediator, I attempt to offer my clients as many options as possible when it comes to helping them decide how to simplify divorce and prepare for the next stage of their life. Often, mediation can emerge as a less combative solution for coming to decisions about everything from spousal support to asset distribution. Because there are no cemented rules in place for how a mediation should take place, every session I conduct is shaped by the parties that are involved. After all, just as every couple, individual, and family is unique, every mediation session should be one-of-a-kind too. Continue reading ›

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When a couple goes through the process of divorce, they encounter several concerns that need to be discussed.For partners with children, many of the biggest issues center around ensuring that the youngsters within the family continue to get the support and guidance they need. However, there are many other important elements to think about for both parents, and non-parents. One of the most common issues I address as a divorce attorney and in my work as a mediator is “spousal maintenance”, or alimony as it is sometimes called.

Many people elect to use divorce mediators when it comes to making decisions about maintenance, because alternative dispute resolution methods can allow them to retain some control over the decisions that are made about their future. Of course, while mediation is often considered to be a less combative form of dispute management, the discussions held around maintenance can be complex, as it means determining why a certain spouse believes they are entitled to support, and whether the amount given in that support should follow the guidelines set by the state of New York. Often, each party will have a different definition of what is “fair” according to their circumstances. However, I found that the non-judgmental and open discussion in mediation can provide a perfect platform on which to find a resolution that suits both sides in a divorce. Continue reading ›

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As a divorce mediator and family law lawyer, I know that there are questions people have when bringing an end to amarriage. Though divorce is never easy, it becomes particularly complex when children are involved, as the end of a relationship also means a huge change in family dynamics for all parties. Since the aim of any divorce and child custody agreements should be to come to terms on agreement that preserves the safety and comfort of the child in question, I offer my clients a range of alternative dispute resolution methods to choose from, alongside standard litigation.

I find that many of my clients prefer to use the less-combative strategy of mediation when it comes to making decisions for the benefit of their children. After all, not only does mediation allow both parties within a divorce to come to an agreement that suits either side, but it can also preserve some of the relationship that remains between divorcing couples, which can be key to joint custody and visitation agreements. One of the many important issues I address with my clients during the mediation process, is “child support”, and what that term should mean to both parties involved. Continue reading ›

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When parents are divorced, they have several concerns they need to think about when it comes to maintaining thebest interests of a child. For instance, they may need to make a decision about parenting time, custody, and visitation, or whether one of the parties should be asked to pay child support to help ensure that the child in question can continue to live a comfortable life after a marriage comes to an end. Importantly, however, it’s worth noting that decisions about child support don’t have to be limited to the discussion that occurs during a divorce.

When I am acting as a mediator it is usually for married divorcing couples.  In that instance I usually find that my clients are most likely to address the concept of child support during mediation and they will make an agreement that eventually will become part of their divorce. However, non-married couples can also come to me to discuss child support through mediation. Continue reading ›

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When it comes to addressing difficult topics during a divorce or family law matter, there are options available that allow for asolution beyond litigation. When it comes to parenting time, visitation, and custody arrangements, many parents prefer to use a method of alternative dispute resolution known as mediation. With mediation, it’s possible to come to terms about the future of a child, or children, without leaving decisions entirely in the hands of the court. Additionally, because mediation is naturally less combative than litigation in most cases, it can allow for some semblance of a relationship to be preserved between the parents in a case.

Though I work as a divorce attorney and child custody lawyer for my clients here in New York and Long Island, I can also offer them alternative options for dispute resolution in the form of mediation and collaborative law. When my clients choose to engage in mediation, the first thing I like to tell them is that there aren’t necessarily any hard and fast rules about how mediations need to proceed. Instead, each mediation session is adjusted according to the needs of the couples, individuals, and families in question. Subsequently, the dynamics of the mediation will also be unique. Often, I’ll start by asking whether the couple have already discussed the issue of parenting time and custody, and whether they have any ideas on how an agreement should look. Continue reading ›

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After taking the time to in my last blog series to discuss the ins and outs of divorce litigation, I hope to share more ofmy experience in the world of family law by turning to some blogs about mediation, my favorite method of dispute resolution. Most of my mediated cases involve divorce, however, it’s also possible to use mediation as a solution for coming to agreements that do not including divorce as well. For instance, mediation can be particularly useful for people who want to address family law issues like child custody and parenting times without discussing divorce. Mediation can also be used for couples that want to be legally separated, or make pre-nuptial or post-nuptial agreements.

The principles that are addressed when mediating parenting time and custody within a divorce, and outside of a divorce are often the same. However, the mechanism that turns the agreements made within mediation into binding orders can be very different for unmarried couples. Usually, it’s expected that the Supreme Court will incorporate a Stipulation of Settlement for a divorce or Separation Agreement into the Judgment without the need to see parties in court.  My engagement with the couple will provide that after the settlement agreement is signed I can draft and submit the uncontested papers to the court for them.  For the purposes of bringing the papers through the court system my name will go down as attorney for the plaintiff, but it is understood that I am neutral between the couple.  The reason I can be listed as the attorney for the plaintiff in that instance is because there are no remaining issues of contention between them since we settled the case by the Separation Agreement.   Continue reading ›

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A divorce case will often be an emotional and complicated time for everyone involved. Feelings are hurt, and insome cases, sadness spurred by the end of a marriage can turn into anger, making the experience of litigation even harder to handle for those involved.  While I am a strong believer in alternative dispute resolution through processes like mediation or collaborative law for couples willing and able to go those routes, often, litigation is the process used.  As a divorce lawyer and child custody attorney, it’s my responsibility to help the people dealing with the complications of divorce to present their case as clearly, calmly, and effectively as possible in front of a New York judge. Often, this will mean telling a story on the behalf of the client, that begins with an opening statement, continues through to a body featuring witness testimonials, direct, and cross examination, and finishes with a closing statement.

From the very beginning when I start working with a client on their divorce case, we will discuss their circumstances in detail with them, and at times writing what I like to call “golden nuggets” of information down in the trial folder, so that we can refer to them later. This allows me to know what kind of story I want to tell throughout the course of the case, although it’s important to listen carefully to what the witnesses, and opposing lawyer says throughout the experience, as this can sometimes alter the considerations that need to be considered when presenting a divorce summation. Continue reading ›

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Although the nature of divorce trials can change from one case to the next, it’s worth noting that divorce attorneys and child custody lawyers like myself often use a very specific set of techniques when presenting our case to the court. Those techniques allow us to create a story for the judge to follow, beginning with an opening statement that explains the nature of the state, then moving onto direct and cross examination. While direct examination is a process used by divorce attorneys to question our own witnesses and establish context within a trial, cross examination is a strategy that’s more focused on changing the perspective of the court to suit our specific client.

During a cross examination, divorce lawyers such as myself ask witnesses essential to our client’s case to provide an in-depth account of the facts that support the case presented by whichever party called the witness to begin with.  Cross examination allows opposing lawyers and perhaps the attorney for the children, if there is a custody dispute, to ask questions of the witness, in an attempt to reveal information that’s beneficial for their clients. For instance, as a cross-examiner in a divorce case, I might use carefully-worded questioning to draw light to points that present my client in a good light. For instance, I could ask the witness to reveal something positive that my client did, or draw more attention to the bad behavior of the opposing party. Continue reading ›

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