Q: mother and father never married. child born out of wed lock. Father does not have any contact with child EVER but does pay mandated child support. by law (NYS) is the father obligated to provide life insurance for the child and name the child 100% beneficiary.
A: David's Answer: Pursuant to FCA Sec. 416(a), the Court MAY order a parent to take out a life insurance policy, but same is neither automatic nor mandatory. Schedule a consult with a Family Law attorney in your area for more info. -- David Bliven, Westchester Family Law attorney (www.blivenlaw.net)
I am a former Family Court prosecutor and handle all divorce and family law matters, including contested and uncontested divorces, child custody/visitation, child support/paternity, adoptions, family offense (orders of protection), child abuse/neglect and juvenile delinquency. I practice primarily in Westchester (White Plains and vicinity) and the Bronx (Riverdale and vicinity). My website can be found at www.blivenlaw.net.
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Moved from buffalo to texas owes 79,000 in arrears can i still serve himin texas
Q: unable locate at last address willful violation of court order no show no recent address now found in Texas I have summons to serve him can i still serve in Texas arrested before for non support jumps from county to county evading courts and taxes collected unemployment once thought he was in state of New York but now found in Texas how can i serve him
A: David's Answer: Yes, if you still live in NY & your violation case is pending in NY, but he moved to TX, you can still serve him in TX. The reason is that personal jurisdiction on him was established via the original case, so for modification or enforcement proceedings you need only have him served with the summons (without the need to re-establish personal jurisdiction). Schedule a consult with a Family Law attorney in your area for more info. -- David Bliven, Westchester Family Law attorney (www.blivenlaw.net)
A: David's Answer: Yes, if you still live in NY & your violation case is pending in NY, but he moved to TX, you can still serve him in TX. The reason is that personal jurisdiction on him was established via the original case, so for modification or enforcement proceedings you need only have him served with the summons (without the need to re-establish personal jurisdiction). Schedule a consult with a Family Law attorney in your area for more info. -- David Bliven, Westchester Family Law attorney (www.blivenlaw.net)
I need some information about family law/custody/adoption, i dont know what the rules are in the USA
Q: I need to know for 2 girls that recently lost their dad, mom died 8 years ago. They're living with a friend of dad now but they wanna stay with me. The problem is that that friend doesnt allow them to have any contact with me, nore with their friends. (He hired bodyguards for them). Another problem is that i'm living in the Netherlands but wanna do everything for those girls.
Have to fill in a city and State but dont recognise my city so i fill in albany, new York
A: David's Answer: First you need to file for guardianship of them. You can only really file for adoption once the children are actually living with you. You'll need to file the guardianship petition with the Family Court in the county where the children currently reside. Call a Family Law in the Albany area to schedule a consultation. -- David Bliven, Westchester Family Law attorney (www.blivenlaw.net)
Have to fill in a city and State but dont recognise my city so i fill in albany, new York
A: David's Answer: First you need to file for guardianship of them. You can only really file for adoption once the children are actually living with you. You'll need to file the guardianship petition with the Family Court in the county where the children currently reside. Call a Family Law in the Albany area to schedule a consultation. -- David Bliven, Westchester Family Law attorney (www.blivenlaw.net)
I have an open child support order with my ex-husband, who has not really paid much in the past 10 years.
Q: Our children are now 21, 19 and 15 years old and have kept the lines of communication open with him throughout the years. We struggled a lot and I once resented him. Today, my life is a bit different. I'd like to cancel the $50 per month I am receiving plus the $21,414.00 in arrears. My case is in New York. Do I file the Petition for Relief From Support Payments and Commitment with the Court?
A: David's Answer: You can just file a petition to terminate the support. You can go to the Clerk's Office of the Family Court - they can assist you in drafting the petition. Call a Family Law attorney in your area for more info. -- David Bliven, Westchester Family Law attorney (www.blivenlaw.net)
A: David's Answer: You can just file a petition to terminate the support. You can go to the Clerk's Office of the Family Court - they can assist you in drafting the petition. Call a Family Law attorney in your area for more info. -- David Bliven, Westchester Family Law attorney (www.blivenlaw.net)
How can I get sole custody of my 2 children?
Q: If I been through Domestic Violence (physical, emotional, verbal abuse) and my kids father has a smoking issue and I don't trust him with our kids because he has a thing of messing around with the person who threatens to kill our kids and wishes death on our kids. How can I get sole custody? I am due to have our second child in a few days. He is either going to be held in jail or be released today from court. There is a restraining order out against him to stay away from me and our daughter because he threatened homicide suicide if I left him. Our daughter is going on 2 years old in a few months. I didn't mention to the ADA that even while he was in jail he put threats towards me if he does not get out of jail. I just want him out of our lives. How can I get him away from us for good?
I've been and with the help from my family have been the main provider for my daughter. I'm going to be the main provider for both of our children. I don't know what to do. He would take money from me to get high and it was money that was given to me that I was saving for our daughter possible needs. I don't know what I was thinking staying around for so long.I need help to get him out of my kids life. He is sick in the head. I'm tired of the threats and all. I want to move out of NY and don't want him trying to follow me. That's been one of his threats as well. That if I left him and if I took the kids away from him especially since our kids are the only one of his that has his last name he would come after me harder than any of the other baby mothers that he have. I want to get away from all the hell I been through in almost 3 years of being with him. He is a threat to me and my kids. I just tried hard to believe he would change. I was wrong.
A: David's Answer: You should file a petition for sole custody. If he's convicted of the domestic violence against you, then the odds would be very long indeed for him to successfully contest custody against you. That said, it may be advisable to mention to the ADA about his threats. Call a Family Law attorney in your area for more info. -- David Bliven, Westchester Family Law attorney (www.blivenlaw.net)
Additional information
A: David's Answer: You should file a petition for sole custody. If he's convicted of the domestic violence against you, then the odds would be very long indeed for him to successfully contest custody against you. That said, it may be advisable to mention to the ADA about his threats. Call a Family Law attorney in your area for more info. -- David Bliven, Westchester Family Law attorney (www.blivenlaw.net)
Why would a magistrate approve a modification if the respondent has not paid in a few years?
Q: My child's father owns a real estate company. He has not paid his support in a few years, now he's petitioned for a modification after getting a notice from cse of intent to garnish wages. He then made a $100.00 payment after receiving the notice. While nearly $10,000 in arrears, and hiding his assets, why would a judge agree to a modification?
A: David's Answer: A Magistrate may still grant the modification going forward, but cannot modify prior to the date of the petition filing (thus, the arrears would stay). The father would still have an obligation to prove what his income is & thus that he's entitled to a downward modification. Schedule a consult with a Family Law attorney in your area. -- David Bliven, Westchester Family Law attorney (www.blivenlaw.net)
A: David's Answer: A Magistrate may still grant the modification going forward, but cannot modify prior to the date of the petition filing (thus, the arrears would stay). The father would still have an obligation to prove what his income is & thus that he's entitled to a downward modification. Schedule a consult with a Family Law attorney in your area. -- David Bliven, Westchester Family Law attorney (www.blivenlaw.net)
Friday, June 13, 2014
How much will a Contested Custody or Divorce case cost me?
Written by David Bliven
Family Law Attorney - White Plains, NY
- Attorney Fee
- Child Custody
- Cost
- Divorce
- Family Law
I get this question a lot & of course the answer depends on how extensive the litigation gets. The more I have to do, the more the client gets billed. But some guidelines on the expected costs are provided below.
1 - Contested Custody Costs
Because Family Court custody cases in NYC & Westchester can last 1-2 years, attorney's fees may be as little as a few thousand, and as much as $25,000 or more over that period. Thus, broken down, it means an average of about $1-2,000+ per month over the life of the case. Be forwarned, however, that in some cases, there is alot more billing towards the front-end of the case (e.g., when trying to establish interim orders of access, etc.) and towards the back-end of the case (i.e., when the trial starts). Thus, while $1-2,000 per month may be an average, some cases may see billing of $5,000 or more in a month, and then other months have only a few hundred dollars billed to the account.
2 - Contested Divorce Costs
Contested divorce cases often cost even more than contested custody cases, simply because all the potential issues between the parties are handled in 1 case. Thus, issues of custody & visitation, child support, maintenance (i.e., alimony) and equitable distribution fo marital assets & debts are all done in one case. Moreover, depositions are routinely done in contested divorce cases; they are rarely done in contested Family Court custody cases. A a result, the expected fees on a contested divorce case are roughly double what one could expect to pay for a "mere" Family Court custody case. As such, one may expect to pay as little as a few thousand and as much as $50,000 or more. Indeed, I've handled contested cases with counsel fees as high as $100,000 or more. If the client gets in over their head financially, a number of options are available, including borrowing against assets or retirement (though this may take court permission), payment plans and/or legal financing. It should be noted that, while I do offer payment plans in some cases, I do not offer payment plans to all clients & in all cases. In sum, in a highly contested case, the client should be forewarned about expected costs and should raise any payment concerns with their lawyer as early in the process as possible.
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