New York Family Law Blog

Divorce court is going to require a lot more time and planning than anticipated for the attorneys for Dodgers owners Jamie and Frank McCourt after an agreement they signed early in their marriage was found to be invalid, according to a New York Family Lawyer and court reports, the Judge involved in the case, after much deliberation, ruled their agreement for property attained during their marriage, to be invalid and not presentable in either case.
“What we do now," said one attorney involved in the case, "is the court is going to have to decide asset by asset how to award the assets.” She went on to say that the judge’s decision would not equate into a 50-50 division in assets, specifically the ownership of the Dodgers ball club.
Frank McCourt’s attorney insists to NY Family Lawyers that he is the sole owner of the Dodgers and plans to plead this part of the case strongly as the case continues.
Jamie McCourt's attorney was happy with the decision the judge made by not accepting the earlier agreement in the couple’s marriage.
The case and the different rulings are not expected to hurt or help daily operations at the Dodger’s Ball club. NY City Family Lawyers predict the McCourts will likely come closer to a settlement since the decision.

No matter how much money you have or how famous you’ve become, dealing with divorce can be difficult and painful. New York Family Attorneys will help you make sense of things during these hard times. New York Family Attorneys will ar

Continue reading " Divorce settlement for Dodger owners will be decided one asset at a time, report New York City Family Lawyers. " »

A 29-year old man plans to appeal a court’s child-custody decision because he believes it was a
religious-based decision according to New York Family Lawyers.

The ruling states that the man and his wife did not have the same religious upbringing but when the
agnostic man had participated in the Christian Faith, they had communicated better as a couple. The
wife was awarded full custody according to New York Family Lawyers.

The court commissioner in the case claims his decision was in the children’s best interest and he felt it
would be more stable for the children to be in an environment where education, Religion and other
upbringing choices weren’t an arguable issue.

“The case law requires me to make a decision whether or not he parties can communicate effectively
about these matters and others concerning their children,” he said and added, “I have never rendered a
decision concerning custody on the basis of one of the parents’ religious beliefs.”

The disappointed father claimed he never got involved or interfered with his children’s religious upbringing,
“I don’t understand how religion was even a factor when it shouldn’t have been,” he said and added “I lost
my children due to courtroom games and religious bias.”

The wife’s attorney argued that religious education was only one of the many factors considered in the
custody case and that education, childcare, parenting philosophies, and health care were all taken into
consideration as well.

According to a law professor at Indiana University any reference to the man’s religious beliefs “would be
clearly unconstitutional unless the parent’s religious practices were actually harming the children.”

Going through a divorce and facing custody hearings is difficult and painful for most. NYC Family
Attorneys can help you weather the storm. New York Family Attorneys will help you prepare your side
and serve you with the best possible outcome.

Continue reading " Agnostic man enraged over losing custody and accuses courts of Religious bias reports New York Family Lawyers " »

No doubt, it takes a great deal of faith, confidence and talent to achieve the ranks of super stardom that the beautiful Sandra Bullock has attained. This American beauty hit the big screen in the nineties with her exciting portrayals of characters that were at once beautiful and yet keenly dangerous. Movies like “Speed” and “Miss Congeniality” earned her a place in our hearts, said one Manhattab Family Lawyer. We just cannot seem to let go.

Bullock has won the Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award and an Academy Award, all in the year 2009. Talent and effort does not go unrewarded, reports the New York Family Lawyer, but it does come with a price. In this case her fame and perseverance cost her the marriage that she had once cherished. According to reports, Bullock has filed for divorce from her husband of seven years, Jesse James, a motorcycle enthusiast and television show host.

Sources say that James repeatedly cheated on Bullock and their relationship had suffered as a result of her very busy career. According to the New York Family Lawyer, it is always better to resolve relationship and career issues than it is to ignore them. Casting a blind eye to our troubles is one of the easiest ways to end up in divorce court over time. For superstar Sandra Bullock, life will go on, and she is due to debut in her first major motion picture since her divorce. The film is called “Gravity” and stars George Clooney. Bullock and Clooney make a great on screen duo that will thrill audiences across the world. Bullock has proven to be masterful at creating excitement, drama and humor, both on screen and off and that is why we love her.

Are you questioning your marital status? Are you thinking about filing for divorce? If so, contact a New York Family Attorney today for answers to the questions that you will undoubtedly have. Divorce does not have to be damaging, and a NYC Family Attorney can bring the process to a smooth conclusion. Call today.

Continue reading " Sandra Bullock Arrives on Top After Nasty Divorce " »

While it is agreed that high school students need to be educated as to the dangers of unprotected sex, for the last twenty years or so the schools have been using the risk of disease and pregnancy as the defining scare tactic to stop young people from having sex, and for the most part, it hasn't really been working, according to reports by a New York Family Attorney.

Despite the fact that we continue to pump kids full of information and fear in regards to the risk of unplanned sex and irresponsible behavior, the teen birth rate is still 41.5 out of every 1000 births, far higher than other developed nations, reports the New York Family Lawyer. Instead of using disease and pregnancy as the fear factor, however, many schools across the country are adopting curriculum programs that give their high school students another type of reality check, and this one seems to be catching the emotions and the understanding of the young people whom it addresses.

The programs consist mainly of real, financially bound, teen parents who come in and tell their stories and their struggles to the class, according to the New York Family Lawyer. Young people don't realize that having a child is so much more expensive, emotionally, financially. We have one shot to make it as a parent in this world and when we come at it completely blindsided and unprepared, it is like an avalanche whose effects ripple out farther than we would assume.

These brutally honest programs seem to be having an effect upon young people who were interviewed about them. Many teens were surprised at just how many aspects of life an unplanned pregnancy could alter, which is precisely the point.

If you are in the process of filing for divorce or custody, or if you are having issues regarding inheritance or support, call a New York City Family Attorney immediately. A qualified New York Family Attorney has the ability to disseminate all of the necessary information and relay it to you in a way that you can understand. Call today.

Continue reading " Teen Parents Give Students a Hefty Dose of Reality " »

A recent shooting at a Florida school board meeting that left the suspect dead and one person injured had an eerie quality to it, a blurring of the lines of reality, according to one NYC Family Lawyer. The suspect spray painted a symbol that was used in a movie V for Vendetta about a masked, anarchistic revolutionary with a hefty respect for Guy Fawkes. The fact that he brought the drama off the screen and into a school board meeting is what seems to haunt the survivors of the incident.

The New York Family Lawyer reports that witnesses gave testament to the look of distance in the eyes of the troubled man who stood before them and threatened them that day in the board room. It was said repeatedly that he seemed completely lost in thought. Spirit and tenacity shined in one very brave woman, who sneaked up behind the gunman and began hitting him with the only thing that she had, which was her purse. Annoyed but not deterred, the gunman grabbed her and pushed her away.

But that momentary distraction was all it took for a brief amount of hesitancy and chaos to begin to ripple through the mind of the suspect, the beginning of doubt. His attempt to shoot to kill miraculously missed the mark. These people he was attempting to bring the big screen to life on were not ready to be extras, said the New York Family Lawyer who had information on the case. In the end, the gunman shot himself and no one else died, but would the situation have been averted if the school board meetings had better security outside of the meeting rooms?

Call a New York Family Attorney today if you have concerns or questions about legal issues. When you need someone to turn to who will get results fast, call a reputable New York Family Attorney and have justice served.

Continue reading " School Board Shootings Blur Lines of Safety and Reality " »

The window of opportunity may have been small, but regardless it had millionaires and their financial staff worked up into a frenzy towards the end of 2010, reports a New York Family Attorney. There is such a thing known as the Generation Skipping Transfer Tax, which has been in place in America since 1986. This is basically a tax on gifts, inheritances and bequests that occur when skipping a generation, for example by bequeathing a trust fun to your grandchildren.

According to the New York Family Lawyer, there was a small yet imperative window of opportunity during the last two weeks of 2010, unbeknownst to most people, where such a gift could be set up for free. No tax, down from 55% gift tax. That is quite a gift; just ask any wealthy benefactor. Imagine wanting to gift your two million dollar estate to your grand kids only for them to have to pay a million dollar gift tax? Most Americans imagine that being rich is easy, that life is easy when you have money, but in cases like this, it is not so.

According to reports by the New York City Family Lawyer, the window closed once again on January first 2011. Those who got in fast got luck and saved a ton of cash. Those who missed the mark, well, the tax has been lowered for the next two years to 35%, which, though it is no where close to free, is still better than 55%, where it is expected to return in 2013. Moguls, millionaires, and wealthy Grandparents have two full years to take advantage of the 35% rate, but sadly, if you were not paying attention, you might still be kicking yourself for missing out on 0% tax.

A New York Family Attorney can assist you in matters of marriage and divorce, settlements, inheritances, wills and other issues that need consideration and involvement. Partnering up with a reputable New York Family Attorney, it is easy to disperse and distribute your assets in the way that feels most fitting.

Continue reading " Time is Up for Tax Free Trust Funds, but Those Who Were Privy Saved a Ton Of Cash " »

Recent reports from a New York Family Lawyer indicate that farming families can breathe slightly easier now that President Obama has signed a federal tax bill stating that farmers can pass on their estates of up to 5 million dollars per person to an heir, and to also be able to do so tax free, at least for another two years.

There has been a lot of speculation and worry in the farming industry where family farms are concerned, reports the New York Family Lawyer. Being forced to pay a 35% inheritance tax could mean that the children that you leave your farm to would have to sell part of it off just to pay for the right to keep it, and when it comes to farming, selling off the land itself is the worst thing that you can do, because once the land is gone, so is your ability to grow and plant. It is the irony of farming.

Based on reports from the NY Family Lawyer, farmers are in a better spot than they could be on this, but even so, proper planning and accounting should be put into practice well before the time to pass the family business on comes near. It is imperative to get financial assets in order with the help of a good accountant.

As family farms face more and more pressures from the government and from agencies that have monopolized the power structures of how our food is produced, farmers hold their ground and stay in it for as long as they can, still committed to the life that is both hard work and yet so deeply rewarding when done in service of the people rather than at the whim of elite agencies and rule makers.

Call a verified New York Family Attorney for information regarding your family farm and what you can do best manage and keep it. A good New York Family Attorney understands that the life of a farming family is far more challenging than people understand. They will have the tools to help you manage it.

Continue reading " The Irony of Farming and Inheritance " »

Mel Gibson has a new movie coming out soon. The film is called The Beaver and will be in theaters on April 8 barring any further complications, according to a New York Family Lawyer that close to the scene. Gibson has been plagued by drama and heartbreak in his real life situation, fighting for custody of his baby Lucia and engrossed in an emotionally challenging legal debacle. These very public battles recently earned him a great deal of unwanted publicity as tapes of admitted physical abuse toward his then girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva began to surface. This drama has put the movie on hold on a number of occasions.

Tensions have risen between the estranged couple, sources revealed to the New York Family Lawyer. Neither one is talking to the other one and the process is admittedly a slow one. There is no doubt that the best interests of baby Lucia will be honored and that the situation will eventually be resolved, disappearing under the well worn rug of public spectacle and settling like dust into the memories of millions of fans who will no doubt be .

Ironically, the new movie mirrors some of the events that have given Gibson such grief recently, according to the New York Family Lawyer. Directed by Jodie Foster, The Beaver stars Gibson as a man with many issues and worries. His troubles are emotional, familial troubles that seem to become more controllable with the uneasy help of his very strange friend, a puppet that he wears on his hand. We haven't seen Gibson as a crazy man in a while, at least not in the movies. Perhaps this will be interesting.

Concerned about your legal rights or the welfare and justice of someone that you love? Afraid of custody battles and of adversity in a less than friendly situation? Call a reputable New York Family Attorney today and start the process of getting the outcome that you want. A New York Family Attorney can help.

There is a lot to be said for dedication and perseverance, according to a New York Family Lawyer. David Goldman is the king of perseverance and dedication in many ways. Back in 2004 his girlfriend took their then 4 year old son Sean to Brazil for what was supposed to be a vacation to visit her parents.

Once they got there, Goldman's girlfriend broke up with him and said that she was staying in Brazil with their son, effectively disconnecting contact from Goldman with the most important person in his life, reports the New York Family Lawyer. Goldman was not going to be deterred. Bravely and against all odds, he filed for custody and fought for his son for five long years.

Reports that the New York Family Lawyer submitted revealed that even after Goldman's ex girlfriend died in childbirth in 2008, both the step dad and maternal Grandmother would still not give up the fight for the right to keep Sean. Finally in late 2009, Goldman was elated to win custody of his son, who finally joined him for good.

So what better way to celebrate such a heartwarming victory than to write a book about it? Sources for the publisher say that the book, called "A Father's Love" will be released in May. The book details the long process that Goldman went through. It is an elaboration of the grief, anger and resentment that he felt after losing his son and the joy in rediscovering him again after five years of absence and separation.

Do you have questions regarding custody of your children or child support issues? Call a New York Family Attorney today for advice on how best to proceed with your case. A reputable New York Family Attorney will help you weed through the endless information and arrive at your best destination.

Continue reading " New Jersey Man Recalls Heartbreak and Joy in Book About Five Year Custody Battle, According to a NYC Family Lawyer " »