New York Family Law Blog

Sometimes, people have the knowledge and means to make law work in their favor. Take for example a case that was reviewed by a New York Family Lawyer about how two parents argue about visitation rights to their minor child. Primarily, the mother is seeking review to quash overthrow the "Shelter Hearing Order" made against her which forbids all forms of communication between her and their 11-year-old daughter. This decision was given by the juvenile court, which is the special body for trial and passing of judgment to minors who are involved in crimes and other issues involving children and adolescents.

This started out when the father who was a lawyer applied to permanently make himself the custodial parent of the daughter in 2000. Then the following year, the mother and the father agreed that they would share parental responsibility for their child and no one was to be designated a primary custodial parent among them. A Guardian Ad Litem, or an advocate who is appointed by the court on behalf of the child, along with the psychologist, and the trial judge all agreed upon and adopted the settlement agreement of the parties regarding visitation rights with their minor child several weeks after the main parties agreed upon a settlement. According to a Brooklyn Visitation Lawyer, about two months later, the father started a new lawsuit to temporarily suspend the mother's rights to visit their child on the grounds that she made up stories and reports that he was abusing their child. He filed a report based on this and had the mother arrested.

She was arrested the day before she was to spend a long summer vacation with her daughter, which was what they have previously agreed upon. As a result, the mother's visitation rights were reduced to supervised therapeutic visits and she sought to appeal this decision. A Bronx Custody Lawyer reports that the family court granted the father's move and ordered the visitation rights to be modified. Then, he requested the DCF to file for a petition for dependency without the presence of the Mother and where the Department of Children and Families' lawyer confessed that the claims contained in the Father's petition were insufficient to take it into the DCF system. The after a few days, the DCF attorney dismissed the dependency case.

Immediately after, the father filed another dependency petition wherein he also used the same claims and accusations from the petition that was already previously sacked by the DCF. Based on the prior decision of the family court, the present judge said that it would not be right to create an order that is not the same as the one made by the family court judge. Having said this, the present judge still did not dismiss the petition but instead, set a hearing for the petition. The mother was not allowed to make any form of communication and the supervised visitation rights were fixed. After several hearings were conducted, the mother appealed to have the fixed supervised visitation rights reversed and the father afterwards terminated his dependency application in the juvenile court.

Then the mother's appeal was granted and that the modification was found to violate the use of discretion because the evidence presented by the father were already found to have no bearing by the DCF in a prior petition that the parties already made a previous agreement as to visitation rights, and that no evidence or change was found to be potentially harmful or disadvantageous to the child to warrant a change in the visitation agreement. Therefore, the visitation was then further modified in favor of the mother and to make up for lost visits from the time that she was arrested up to the time that she endured the supervised visitations. The new agreement for make up visitation shall include the daughter spending the entire summer with her mother and that the father will be able to visit every Wednesday and alternate weekends.

According to our Bronx Order of Protection Lawyer, a week before the daughter was supposed to spend summer in her mother's home, the DCF filed another affidavit and a petition to place the child in shelter for old allegations and a new one which involved the mother pulling her daughter's hair and pushing her to bed, and making a motion to hit the girl and calling her names. The trial court granted immediate shelter hearing without the mother present. Among those who were there were the DCF, the Father and the Guardian Ad Litem. They stated that they notified the Mother through a phone call but she simply did not oblige. The hearing went on without the Mother being able to defend herself. Thereafter, it was concluded that although the girl reported possible child abuse practices, there were no evidences to support the claim and those alone do not constitute child abuse.

Moreover, the court rejected the DCF's petition for shelter because the evidence that was used were already rejected before. What was found out, however, was that the child was truly a dependent. Whether her allegations against her mother were true or not, it must be tried on a different time, complete with evidences submitted to the DCF supporting the claims. If this was found out to be true, then the petition of the DCF for shelter must be upheld. Also if the DCF won't do its job on behalf of the child's welfare, the other parent must step in for her defense. The claims made by the DCF did not reveal that the child was truly in potential danger and that the Mother was seriously hurting her daughter when she goes for a visit in her house. What the courts were more worried about is the cleverness of the father to use all means and influence to get the DCF and the dependency court to permit him to break a visitation agreement with the mother, even if he presented evidence which were already found insufficient.

Because of this, the visitation rights of the mother were retained and that the shelter order made for the girl against the mother was disregarded. However, if the girl and the father or even the DCF were able to provide concrete evidence that the child was truly suffering from child abuse then it will be another legal battle, will truly strip the mother off her visitation rights and she will definitely be put to jail. It may or may not have been just coincidence that every time the girl would meet with her mother, the father stirs something up to prevent it. The court finds this alarming considering the DCF, the dependency court, and even the daughter were unwittingly being manipulated.

Continue reading "Court Examines Visitation in Light of Alleged Abuse Allegations" »

Media were thrown out of the courtroom at a recent custody hearing involving actor Charlie Sheen and his estranged wife, Brooke Mueller. The judge cited “questions of abuse.” A New York Family Lawyer reveals that it is usual practice for a judge to close the courtroom when there are abuse allegations to hear. The origin and nature of the sensitive questions were not explained before the media was exiled.

The recent life of actor Charlie Sheen has been riddled with a mess of struggles. The latest rebuff came when his petition to take custody of his 2-year-old twin sons from his estranged wife, Brooke Mueller, was shot down in court. Each parent is seeking sole custody of the boys. The court ruled that custody is to remain as an earlier custody agreement outlines.

Sheen and Mueller, who have both struggled with sobriety, were seen in attendance at the hearing. Mueller recently returned to rehab.

After the hearing, Sheen left the courthouse surrounded by security; he then immediately flew to Washington D.C. to perform in his stage show. When Mueller left the courthouse she smilingly hugged her attorney, but declined to comment.

A month earlier, Mueller filed for a restraining order against Sheen referencing a threat Sheen made on a recent trip to the Bahamas. She alleges that he threatened to behead her. The earlier custody agreement was supposed to have overcome any differences the two were still having about the custody and visitation arrangement of their boys, and many think Mueller would have revoked or amended her restraining order. With this newest filing, however, it is yet to be seen how the order and the agreement will play out. There is much speculation about just what the home life of the twins would be like in the custody of either parent.

The custody disagreements are supposed to now be settled, but the public expects more courtroom time for the former “Two and a Half Men” star and his estranged wife.

Whether you require assistance with a divorce, an order for protection or paternity issue, it is important to your case to speak with a skilled lawyer as soon as possible to ensure that your rights are protected.

Continue reading "Questions of Abuse Close Courtroom During Sheen-Mueller Custody Hearing " »

Curtis Jackson also known as 50 Cent has come to terms with his ex-girlfriend regarding his 11 year old son’s visitation said a New York Family Lawyer. He will be able to spend 1 weekend per month, as well as one month in the summer and half of both his winter and spring breaks. Both parents seems to be satisfied with the decision made in Suffolk County Family Court in Central Islip, New York. 50 Cent’s son Marquise is a resident of Dix Hills, Long Island.

Child Visitation in The Bronx and Westchester County is when a non-custodial parents wishes to visit with the child. Child Visitation is closley related to Child Custody when the main priority is whats in the best interest of the child.

Continue reading "50 Cent deals with son’s visitation issue in Central Islip Family Court reports a New York Family Lawyer" »

Actor Charlie Sheen has stumbled into a mess of recent struggles. The latest rebuff came when his petition to take custody of his twin sons from his estranged wife, Brooke Mueller, was shot down in court. The custody is to remain as an earlier custody agreement outlines. According to a New York City Family Attorney, those records have so far been kept confidential.
Both Sheen and Mueller were at the hearing. It is public knowledge that both have been struggling with sobriety for quite a while. In fact, Mueller just recently returned to rehab.
After the hearing, Sheen left the courthouse surrounded by his security detail and flew straight out to Washington D.C. to perform his stage show. When Mueller left the courthouse she was smiling and even hugged her attorney. She declined to comment, however.
A month earlier, Mueller had imposed a restraining order against Sheen; she referenced a threat Sheen made to her on a recent trip to the Bahamas to behead her. The earlier custody agreement was supposed to have overcome any differences the two were still having about the custody of their children, and many think it would have led Mueller to revoke or amend her restraining order. With this newest filing, it has yet to be seen what the order and the agreement will look like in application. Custody battles in Brooklyn and The Bronx should be handled by local lawyers who are familiar with the laws in those places.
There is much speculation about just what the home life of the twins would be like in the custody of either parent. While it is not the job of the public to ascertain where the toddlers will be best off at, it is the indescribably hard job of lawyers, judges, and the parents themselves, to attain the best environment and support structure for dependents. As New York Family Law Offices know, it is imperative to find the right legal aid for you and your situation. Children, ultimately, depend on the decision you make on who your legal representation will be.
While the custody agreements are supposed to now be settled, the public is expecting to hear of more courtroom time for the former “Two and a Half Men” star and his estranged wife, Brooke Mueller.

Continue reading "Charlie Sheen’s Twins not in His Custody " »