Queens

Published on: October 25, 2012

Court Discusses Parental Rights of Imprisoned Father

by Stephen Bilkis

A woman who was high on drugs found herself married to a man she hardly knew. She never lived with that man she married and she never even had sexual relations with him to her knowledge. A New York Family Lawyer said she tried to divorce him in the days that followed but she could not locate him so she could not serve him divorce papers.

The woman later cleaned herself up and stopped taking drugs. By that time, she met another man with whom she fell in love. They lived together as husband and wife without the benefit of a marriage. With this man, she had two children. In the children’s birth certificates, the man was listed as their father and the children used his surname. A New York Custody Lawyer said the children received pediatric care and in the medical records with the children’s pediatrician, the man was indicated as their father. The man was also listed as the children’s next of kin in case of emergency. The father listed the children as his beneficiaries and dependents. He fully supported them with the salary he earned as a construction worker.

The real father of the children (the man who was not the legal husband of the children’s mother) was imprisoned several times during the infancy of the children but he was imprisoned for only short terms of six months. In 1998, he was imprisoned with a term of five years. During his incarceration, he still tried to support the woman and his children with her with earnings as an inmate. He asked his sister to visit the children for him when he couldn’t reach them by telephone because the telephone service at their apartment had been cut off. Months later, the sister of the imprisoned father could no longer find the children or the mother.

Published on: October 10, 2012

Court Rules on Child Neglect Case

by Stephen Bilkis

This is an application for guardianship of a child pursuant to the provisions that are set up under the Social Services Law. The petitioner and appellant of the case is Graham Windham. The respondent of the case is Deborah K. This case is being heard in the Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department.

Case Background

A New York Family Lawyer said the child in this case is Shantal who was born on the 26th of November, 1970. In December of 1970 Shantal was placed with the Agency voluntarily as the mother had no home for the child to live in. Shantal was placed with a foster family until April of 1971. Shantal was returned to her mother at this time.

Published on: July 31, 2012

The Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) filed an abuse petition

by Stephen Bilkis

The Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) filed an abuse petition, pursuant to Family Court Act against the respondent mother and the person legally responsible for the subject children, respondent R., with regard to the children of the respondent mother.

A New York Family Lawyer said that ACS alleged in their petition that a fifteen-month-old child was in the care and custody of respondent R. and that the toddler was returned to the respondent mother with two black eyes and swelling to his forehead. It was alleged that the toddler and his eleven-year-old sibling left Brooklyn with respondent R. to go to his home in New Jersey for the weekend. Later that same day, the younger child was brought to the hospital and was pronounced dead on arrival.

Significantly, a New York Custody Lawyer said that despite her brother and sister accompanying her to New Jersey when she learned of her child’s death, respondent mother chose to spend the night with respondent R. in his home, with eleven-year-old Sheila who was present at the time of Angel’s death, knowing R. was a suspect for the homicide of her son that day.

Published on: July 6, 2011

Man Accused of Killing Wife Over Custody

by Stephen Bilkis

A man who is accused of killing his wife and her boyfriend was attending his child’s custody hearing on Tuesday. The child is now 13 years old and the court case will decide where she should live explains a New York Family Lawyer. This is a very unusual case as most custody cases occur due to divorce.

The father is said to of killed his wife and her boyfriend. It is said that the man broke down in court when he was questioned. In Manhattan and Queens, lawyers deal with these cases many times.

The court looked at some of the information surrounding the murder investigation when making the decision of custody. The court was told that the young girl was in the shower when she heard gun shots. The 13 year old girl was at the hearing but she did not enter the court room. Perhaps this was because it was too upsetting for her to see her father, and murderer of her mother.

Published on: June 28, 2011

Axe-Wielding Man Shot Outside Daycare

by Stephen Bilkis

A man carrying an axe outside an in-home childcare facility in the community of Glenn Dale, in the District of Columbia area, was shot and killed by three police officers, authorities said.

The incident happened just before 3 p.m., a Prince George’s County Police spokesman told a NY Family Lawyer. According to the spokesman, officers were sent there to look into reports of an armed man around the daycare.

The suspect was part of a child custody dispute and wanted to take his children from the daycare. The daycare provider called the children’s mother, the police spokesman said, and the mother told the provider not to release the children to their father.