In young couples and/or childless couples, custody of pets has been a sore subject that has come up in my practice. Pets are interesting because they are not children, but they are not exactly purely personal property either. Custody over a mini dachshund named Joey was at issue in the interesting case of Travis v. Murray, 42 Misc.3d 447 (Sup. …
Vote for Your Favorite Blawg (Preferably This One!)
It’s that time of year again when the American Bar Association (“ABA”) is taking nominations for the 8th Annual Blawg 100. This law blog (“blawg”) has made the Top 100 in the past- would love your support to get this blawg on there again. You can peruse the ABA Blawg Directory here. Would love for you to vote for this …
Child Custody and Visitation Disputes that Cross State Lines
The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (“UCCJEA”) is followed by the State of New York and is codified in New York’s Domestic Relations Law Sections 75-78. Its applicability is with child custody and visitation disputes that cross state lines. The family law community regularly uses the statutory acronym UCCJEA – hopefully this post will dissect some of the …
Overview of New York Local Food Law
I recently wrote this article giving an overview of local food law in New York. It gives an overview of the myriad of legal issues affecting farmers and food entrepreneurs involved in the local food movement including direct farm marketing, cottage food operation law, and a checklist of other legal issues such food safety, contract law, land use and zoning, insurance …
Illinois Farm Family of the Year
My family was recently recognized as the Illinois Farm Family of the Year by the Illinois Beef Association for our beef cattle operation. It’s what took me home last week to the Rincker Ranch in Shelbyville, Illinois. Check out this video of my parents talking about our family farm! Share this Article
An Annulment in New York Based on Fraud
You can obtain an annulment based on one of the five reasons set forth in New York Domestic Relations Law (“DRL”) Section 140. This post will focus on an annulment based on fraud-DRL 140(e). Pursuant to this statute: An action to annul a marriage on the ground that the consent of one of the parties thereto was obtained by force …
Why Hire an Attorney for an Uncontested Divorce When Forms are Available Online?
Filing a New York uncontested divorce or an annulment can seem easy to do. In the case of an uncontested divorce, there are forms available on the court’s website. For annulments though, there are no forms available to the public, but it is substantially similar to filing for an uncontested divorce. That being said, there are over 15 documents that …
Calling all Ag Lawyers: First AALA Regional in Baltimore, Maryland
I will be at the first-ever Regional for the American Agriculture Law Association (‘AALA”) this Friday at the University of Maryland, School of Law in Baltimore, Maryland. I will be live tweeting from @CariRincker and @RinckerLaw, while assisting with the employment law presentation. Check out the conference schedule here. If you are a food and agriculture lawyer or law student …
Forgery, Identity Theft and Divorce
Sometimes one spouse will sign the other’s name. Most times, this is consensual; however, there are times where it is nonconsensual and the other spouse had no idea it was done. This can come to a head when a divorce action ensues. New York is a no fault state, which means that courts do not “punish” parties of a divorce …
The 4-Step Divorce Mediation Process
It’s as easy as 1,2,3… 4! Okay, okay, divorce mediation isn’t always so “easy” but this document that I created demonstrates the 4 step process. Initial Consultation – this is where an initial consultation agreement and confidentiality agreement is signed and the mediation process is discussed Mediation Period – this could take a bit depending on the complexity of the …
Getting Paid: Alternative Billing Strategies for Food and Agriculture Lawyers
I will be moderating a Roundtable discussion at the American Agriculture Law Association (“AALA”) Annual Meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico on October 21, 2014 on alternative billing strategies for the food and agriculture lawyer. The Roundtable will also be brought to you by the American Bar Association (“ABA”) General Practice, Solo & Small Firm Division’s Agriculture Law Committee. The Roundtable …
New Jersey Agriculture Mediation Program Handbook
I have been on the New Jersey Agriculture Mediation Program Roster for the two years offered through the New Jersey Department of Agriculture. The program is free to agriculture producers. The program recently published a handbook that can be found online here. The handbook does a nice job explaining the types of disputes that can be mediated through the agriculture …