Protecting the Child Custody Rights of Parents

In New York, courts have broad authority to decide child custody matters and set visitation schedules. Their chief aim is to serve the best interests of the child, and in this aim, the courts are gender-blind. This means they’re not legally allowed to favor mothers, since the law states that mothers and fathers have equal custody rights.

Rather than focusing on gender, the predominant consideration of family law courts is which parent serves as the primary caretaker — that is, who is more involved in the child’s day-to-day activities. To this end, several factors come into play. The courts consider which parent:

• Feeds the child
• Helps get the child ready for school
• Communicates with the child’s teachers
• Helps the child with homework
• Arranges extracurricular and social activities
• Arranges doctor appointments
• Sees to the child’s necessities concerning clothing and housing

Such determinations can be subjective, which is why it is essential to hire a family law attorney who knows how to convey the importance of your bond with your child. The team at the Law Offices of David Bliven would be happy to assist with your case. Serving Westchester (including White Plains) and the Bronx (including Riverdale), we have nearly 30 years of experience asserting the rights of parents in court and can do the same for you. Call our family law firm to speak to an experienced child custody attorney about your parental rights.

What Factors Are Considered In a Child Custody Determination?

The overall standard the court prioritizes is the “best interests of the child.” Within that standard, the court considers “the totality of the circumstances.” That said, there are several other specific factors the court considers before awarding custody when dealing with two biological parents.

The following are some of the factors a Judge will consider when determining what custody arrangement is in the best interests of the child:

• The stability of the child’s current arrangement
• Each parent’s home environment and financial ability to meet the child’s needs
• Any arrangements to care for the child when the parent is unavailable
• Which parent has been the primary caretaker for the child in the years leading up to the custody filing
• Any substance abuse by either parent
• The mental and physical health of the parties
• Any adverse sexual misconduct, child abuse, neglect, or domestic violence on the part of either parent
• The child’s preferences, depending on the child’s age
• Each parent’s willingness to foster a relationship between the other parent and the child

The Judge will also assess the conduct of each party as the case is proceeding, including conduct both in and out of the courtroom. This means you should be prepared for your current and past behavior and life circumstances to be scrutinized by the court to ensure you can provide a stable home that prioritizes your child’s safety and happiness.

If you need help proving your preferred legal or physical custody arrangement is best for your child’s well-being, call our New York family law firm today. A skilled NYC child custody lawyer from our office will work hard on your custody dispute to get you the best possible outcome.

How Is Child Custody Handled When the Parents Still Live Together?

In some cases, parents may live together while a child custody case is being initiated. When this happens, this issue may be resolved if the parties agree on which parent may have custody. At that point, the custodial parent can move out with the children while the case is pending. Each party should hire a lawyer and have an interim stipulation drawn up to this effect.

If there’s no agreement in place, then neither parent should move out just yet. Instead, if there’s a history of domestic violence or a fear of it occurring, an application for exclusive occupancy and temporary custody should be filed. If that’s not the case, you will need to go through the process of a contested custody case in the New York courts.

You should both have lawyers with extensive experience handling complex child custody cases. Generally, the court will also assign an attorney to represent the children (though depending on the parties finances, the Court may direct the parties to pay his/her fees), and they might order a forensic psychological evaluation while working on the custody issue. If you have concerns about this legal process, you should contact a New York City child custody lawyer for the skilled legal representation you deserve as you resolve your child custody dispute.

How Can You Prepare for a Custody Battle If You’re Still Living Together?

No matter how tense the situation may be around the house, one should generally not move out of the house and leave the kids with the other parent. This will automatically give you a disadvantage in your pursuit of winning custody.

Additionally, if you haven’t already, you should take an active part in everything the children are involved in. Make sure their teachers, doctors, and athletic coaches know you by your first name and are used to seeing your face at events, appointments, and games. After all, the strength of your child’s relationship with you will factor into the court’s child custody decision, so you need to be able to prove you regularly spend time with them and have their best interests at heart.

If you currently work long hours, you should consider reducing them so you can spend time with your kids, taking them to fun places and making good memories with them. Keep in mind  this may be a confusing time for them as their parents begin leading separate lives and undergoing court proceedings, so focusing on spending time with your children may help with their mental health during a challenging stage of life.

You should also keep a written diary of any important conversations or interactions with the other parent, basically a “he-said-she-said” log. Just be sure to refrain from posting negative content about them on social media, as this is potentially discoverable.

If you need to vent to a friend or family member you trust, it’s best to do so in person, so there’s no record of it that could affect the custody decision. For the same reason, you should refrain from cursing or denigrating the other parent, especially in writing. After all, parents can and usually will use negative emails and text messages as evidence showing that their child’s mother or father has been speaking negatively about them and is likely to alienate them from their child. This can keep you from getting the custody agreement you want, so be careful about what you put in writing during your New York child custody case.

What Are The Different Types of Child Custody Arrangements In New York?

In New York, custody can be determined in several ways. They include:

• Joint Custody: In a joint legal custody situation, both parents have the legal authority to make significant life decisions on behalf of their child concerning issues like religion, education, or health care. Sometimes they agree to have “equal decision-making,” which means they must reach an agreement on all significant decisions, or else the decision would be submitted to a mediator or judge to decide. In other agreements, the primary custodial parent gets final decision-making after full consultation with the non-custodial parent. In some cases, parents choose to defer unresolved decisions to a qualified professional or parenting coordinator to help reach an agreement. Joint custody in New York is often reached via agreement, but rarely imposed upon the parents by the Judge
• Sole Custody: When a parent is given sole physical custody, the child will physically live with that parent. Additionally, sole legal custody will give them the ultimate authority to make everyday and major life decisions for the child as the sole decision maker. Legal custody carries many privileges, allowing the custodial parent to make decisions about the child’s schooling, health care, and religious upbringing. As such, the custodial parent plays a fundamental role in the child’s physical and intellectual development
• Shared Custody: When parents share custody, they generally split their access to the child 50/50. A shared custody situation is very rare
• Split Custody: This is a situation in which at least one child lives with one parent, and at least one child lives with the other parent. Negotiating a custody plan can be complex. It is essential to remember that the family law court considers what is in the best interests of the child. For fathers, this means that if you and your child’s mother separate, it is important to remain in the child’s life as much as possible. Both custodial and non-custodial parents should keep as much physical evidence as possible that may strengthen their case

If you’re unsure if you should seek sole physical custody, joint physical custody, or any other type of child custody agreement, contact a skilled family law attorney for legal guidance. Our team will review the details of your case before creating a tailored legal strategy focused on getting the best possible resolution for your child custody issues. Call our New York family law firm to start your case.

Should You Give Custody of Your Kids To Their Father?

There are many situations in which a mother has voluntarily given custody of her children over to the father. Many times this happens because the mother wants to go back to school to obtain a degree, or because the mother’s house is cramped and the father has just moved into a new, larger space.

Regardless, the mother often feels the arrangement will just be “temporary.” Sometimes the father even expressly states, “I won’t give you any problems in giving you back the kids when you finish school.”

Unfortunately, it’s rarely that simple. When a New York child custody attorney must get involved, it’s because the situation has changed, and now the father will not give the kids back. The mother has no proof of their informal arrangement and therefore must satisfy a high legal burden to get a child custody order from a judge to change residential custody. If this situation sounds familiar, don’t give up hope, because trusted New York child custody lawyers can help you.

First, you should get the temporary nature of the child custody arrangement captured in writing, preferably in a custody order that states that you may petition for custody again when your circumstances change. Be sure to state in the order itself what exact circumstances may create the change.

Second, it’s preferable to have the father sign a notarized letter, affidavit, or stipulation stating his intentions of giving the children back upon, for example, the mother finishing school. Ideally, a formal parenting agreement (or even better yet, a court order) would be executed to this effect.

Finally, any conversations of significance between the father and mother should be captured in writing, which usually takes the form of a confirmatory email. While these steps won’t guarantee you’ll get child custody back, they’ll put you in a much better position than doing nothing at all and assuming everything will fall into place without employing any legal strategies. If you’re ready to learn more about how experienced attorneys can help retain parents’ rights, call our office today.

How Is Child Support Calculated When Parents Share Custody?

Some people share custody of their child, which means exactly 50%-50% in each household. The issue then becomes whether child support is paid at all – and if so, how much.

The first analysis is whether the shared custody arrangement is pursuant to a court order or just by a mutual, informal agreement. If it’s pursuant to a court order, then you can skip to the next paragraph. If it’s pursuant to an informal agreement, then you’re advised to start keeping track of the days and even the hours that your child is with you. The reason for this is that if there’s a dispute later on about whether you do indeed share custody, at least you have something in writing to corroborate this custody agreement. You should also begin confirming the days you’ll have the child with the other parent in writing. As an example, you can send a calendar to the other parent for the next month, marking off “M” or “F” on the days to designate which days the child will be with you versus the other parent. In the end, you’re advised to file a petition for joint custody and get the arrangement confirmed via court order.

The prevailing law – however incorrect – holds that in a shared custody situation, the parent who makes more money is automatically deemed the noncustodial parent and is thus potentially liable for the full guidelines amount (i.e., 17% for one child, 25% for two, etc.). That said, many courts deviate from the presumptive calculation in a joint custody situation and do an offset first, then calculate support as if the father is paying the mother support. Then they calculate as if the mother pays the father support. The difference between the two calculations would therefore be the only money changing hands. An experienced New York child custody lawyer can let you know how child support will be calculated in your case, so call today to learn more.

Are You Ready to Get Legal Support from a Child Custody Attorney in New York City?

If you’re worried about the outcome of your custody case, it’s time to contact a family law attorney for help navigating the legal process. At the Law Offices of David Bliven, we understand the importance of preserving a child’s relationship with their mother and father after divorce or separation, so you can count on us to work hard to get a custody order that’s in the best interests of the child.

If you’re not sure whether you want sole or joint physical or legal custody, we’ll help you understand the differences between these arrangements. Once you know if you’re going to pursue residential custody, joint legal custody, or any other option that’s best for the child’s well-being, we’ll work rigorously to protect your parental rights. Whether you hire us to fight for joint or sole custody or to modify an existing agreement, you can count on us to provide the legal support you need. Call 914-362-0968 to schedule a full case strategy consultation.