Parental alienation, or parental manipulation, is all too common in high-conflict divorces or child custody battles. Unfortunately, it’s also devastating and can cause an irreparable breakdown of parent-child relationships. Here’s what you need to know about parental alienation and what your legal options are if you believe your child’s other parent is manipulating them to alienate you.
Adopting a child is highly rewarding, but can also be an overwhelming and stressful process. If you’re pursuing domestic or international adoption on Long Island, New York, it’s important to work with an experienced professional who can help you navigate the challenges ahead to forge a path toward adoption success.
If you’re involved in a divorce, child custody, or child support case, drug testing may be involved either for yourself or your ex, or both. Here’s what you need to know about why Long Island courts order drug tests, how they’re conducted, and when you should reach out for help from an experienced family law attorney.
Contrary to popular belief, drug use isn’t something penalized by family courts, even when illegal. A family court will not issue criminal charges but may forward the case to a prosecutor if deemed necessary, usually in clear instances where more than personal use is suspected. Rather, the primary consideration behind drug testing is ensuring the wellbeing and best interests of any children involved. If drug use is highly suspected, family courts will order testing to confirm and take appropriate action to reduce harm to the child, including but not limited to suspending child custody and visitation rights until a drug rehabilitation program has been completed successfully.
Alimony, also called spousal support or spousal maintenance, is a payment made from the higher earning spouse to the lower earning spouse during and after a divorce. These payments are intended to help bridge the income gap while the lesser earning spouse learns to function independently.
There are three different types of alimony:
Temporary alimony is often awarded immediately after filing for divorce when the lesser earning spouse reveals a financial need. This type of maintenance is usually very short-lived and is re-evaluated during the divorce process.
It’s common for ex-spouses co-parenting on Long Island to disagree about many aspects of raising their child post-divorce. When it comes to your child’s education, however, the stakes are raised because their long-term future may potentially be impacted. Here’s how you can handle disagreements about your child’s education with your ex-spouse and how to get help from an experienced Long Island divorce lawyer.
First and foremost, it’s critical to understand who has legal custody of your child. It may be either you or your ex-spouse, or you may share legal custody. Be aware that legal and physical custody are not the same; if you have sole physical custody, you may still share legal custody.
In cases of joint legal custody, both you and your ex-spouse must agree on your child’s education. If you don’t, this becomes a contested issue that requires resolution either via mediation or litigation. If only one parent has legal custody, they can make decisions about the child’s education even if the other parent disagrees. (more…)
Alimony, often called spousal support or spousal maintenance, is a payment made from the higher-earning spouse to the other for the purpose of providing temporary financial assistance to a lesser-earning spouse during and after a divorce. Support payments typically continue until the lesser-earning spouse is able to support themselves financially.
If ordered to pay spousal maintenance, what happens if you can’t afford it? Fortunately, you do have legal options to reduce your alimony payments if they’re higher than what you can feasibly pay. (more…)
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