New York Family Law Blog
In an action for a divorce and additional relief, the husband appeals, as limited by his brief, from so much of a judgment of the Supreme Court as awarded counsel fees to the complainant wife. A New York Family Lawyer said the wife was awarded with $150 per week in child support, granted the husband with visitation to the infant only to the extent that it is supervised to the wife’s satisfaction, and distributed the marital assets in the proportion of 75% to the complainant wife and 25% to the husband.
The judgment is modified, on the law and in the exercise of discretion, deleting the $430.00 and substituting the words $372.50; deleting the $150.00 and $430.00, and substituting, respectively, $86.63, and $372.50; deleting the words which equals $100.00 per week, leaving a balance of $50.00 per week, and substituting the words leaving a balance of zero; striking the eighth decretal paragraph and substituting a provision granting the wife a credit for the required payments on the balance of her purchase-money mortgage of $372.50 per month until the entire mortgage amount of $24,000 has been paid; deleting $150.00, and substituting the $86.63; adding to the eleventh decretal paragraph thereof, after the figure $2,885.84, and the complainant’s Nissan automobile with a net value of FOUR-THOUSAND DOLLARS ($4,000); and striking the twelfth decretal paragraph. As modified, the judgment is affirmed insofar as appealed from, with costs to the complainant, and the matter is remitted to the Supreme Court, Nassau County, for a hearing and determination on the issue of visitation, unless the parties can reach an agreement on visitation prior thereto. In the interim, a New York Custody Lawyer said the provisions for visitation contained in the third decretal paragraph shall continue.
The trial court properly distributed the marital assets in a proportion based upon the ratio of the parties’ respective earnings during the latter years of the marriage, when most of the marital assets were acquired. A Nassau County Family Lawyer said the award of the greater proportion of the marital assets to the wife was particularly appropriate in view of her extraordinary efforts to improve the economic condition of the family when compared to the husband’s complacency in that respect. The court erred, however, in failing to include as a marital asset the parties’ automobile which was purchased with savings accumulated during the marriage.
In considering the responsibility for child support, the court did not sufficiently consider the relative earnings of the parties. Under the circumstances of the case, the responsibility for child support should be borne by the parties in the approximate ratio of their respective annual salaries. The wife may seek a modification of the award if the husband’s income increases or if there is some other change in the parties’ financial circumstances. A Manhattan Family Lawyer said the family court has the exclusive original jurisdiction over proceedings for support or maintenance under the law and in proceedings under article five-B of the act, known as the uniform interstate family support act. On its own motion, the court may at any time in the proceedings also direct the filing of a neglect petition in accord with article ten of the act.
Although the trial court’s determination concerning the visitation rights of the husband was appropriate based upon the circumstances which existed up to the time of the trial, including alleged threats made by the husband to take the parties’ children to his native country of Yugoslavia, a hearing is warranted for the purpose of determining whether the passage of time has mitigated the circumstances upon which the court declined to fix a schedule of visitation rights.
Finally, the court improperly exercised its discretion in requiring the husband to pay counsel fees.
The law is trying to protect both the interest of the parents and children. Even if the law dictates a huge amount of money for child support, it can never be enough to replace the role that a parent has to play. If you need a Nassau Child Support Attorney or a Nassau Child Custody Lawyer, call the office of Stephen Bilkis and Associates. You can also seek the help of a Nassau Divorce Lawyer and Nassau Family Attorney to patch up a blurred situation between you and your spouse.