Divorce is rarely simple. When two people’s lives are intertwined—physically, emotionally, and legally—separating the individual strands can be a task akin to untying the Gordian knot. The longer a couple has been together and the more they share, the more difficult this task becomes. It can be even more difficult if the divorcing couple co-owns a business or one spouse …
Do I need a prenup before I get married? No one gets married with the intention of getting divorced, but it is always a good idea to protect your rights and your property in the event that life does not goes as planned, regardless of your financial circumstances. Divorce is inevitably complicated, contentious, and unpredictable. In Illinois, the law requires …
In a divorce, it sometimes is “impossible” to find and personally serve the defendant-spouse. After other efforts have been made, service by publication may be used as a last resort after “diligent” searching by other methods under CPLR 315. Service by publication is time consuming and may be costly. A poor person’s fee waiver for certain court filing fees is …
In this electronic age, parents can craft an agreement allowing the parent to have meaningful communication with the child(ren) using electronic methods (i.e., Parenting 2.0!) including: • Telephone (e.g., to the other parent’s phone or the child’s phone) • Video-conferencing (e.g., FaceTime, Skype) • Text messaging (e.g., WhatsApp, Viber) • Social media (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat) • Electronic mail …
Grandparent visitation is not automatic in New York. There is an assumption that the grandparent will have visitation with their grandchild through the grandchild’s parent. There is also a presumption that a fit parents acts in the best interest of their child. This means the courts will give great weight to the parent’s decision about their child’s visitation and access …
The New York Court of Appeals has held that absent any threat to the child’s wellbeing, those people who have visitation rights have the right to unsupervised visitation with his or her child. Weiss v. Weiss, 52 N.Y.2d 170 (1981); Nancy M. v. Brian M., 227 A.D.2d 404 (1996); Twersky v. Twersky, 103 A.D.2d 775 (1984). For the court to …
School Breaks Schools in New York typically have four (4) school breaks: Thanksgiving/Fall Break, Christmas/Winter Break, President’s Day/Mid-Winter Break, and Easter/Spring Break. When drafting a parenting plan, parents should be cognizant on what was agreed to with the holiday schedule. Here is an example schedule (for illustrative purposes): School Break Time Even Years Odd Years Mid-Winter Recess (President’s Day Week) …