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New York Family Law Attorney | New York Child Custody Lawyer | Paternity, Child Support & Divorce Attorney COVID-19 Update: We are open and serving our clients. Learn More >>> Free Consultation: 800.696.9529 Tap Here To Call Us New York Family Law Attorney Stephen Bilkis & Associates, PLLC Home Contact New York Child Custody Lawyer Stephen Bilkis & Associates, PLLC Home Stephen Bilkis Family Law Client Reviews Blog Contact Us Free Consultation 24/7 800.696.9529 Real Solutions for Real Problems Contact Us Now For a Free Consultation Member of: New York Family Law Attorney Family Court issues and Matrimonial issues are two (2) of the most highly charged and contentious matters argued in the New York State Court System. This is especially true when issues of Divorce , Child Custody and Visitation, Child Support , Spousal Support (Maintenance), an Order of Protection (Family Offense petition) or Abuse and Neglect case are in dispute. We also represent families in estate administration and probate matters . In this piece a New York Family Lawyer and a Manhattan Divorce Lawyer from our office have combined to give you a background of both Family Law and Matrimonial Law in New York. Hopefully, this will give you a better understanding of the law, the Court System and how to protect the rights of both you and your family In New York State there are two (2) courts that have jurisdiction to hear Family Law Cases: The New York Family Court and The Supreme Court, Matrimonial Part. Both Courts can hear all family cases with one exception. Only the Supreme Court can hear divorce cases. Cases We Handle We will start with Family Law matters that are common to both courts. These are the following: Child Custody & Visitation , Paternity, Child Support , Family Offense Petitions (Order of Protection), Spousal support or Maintenance, Guardianship , and Petition for Abuse & Neglect. Please remember at the conclusion of this essay that if you still have questions or are seeking representation, Stephen Bilkis & Associates, PLLC offers a free consultation with a New York Family Lawyer to further explain or answer any questions you may have with regard to Family Law or Divorce. The firm has locations throughout New York City & Long Island. Call us at 800.696.9529 to meet us in Manhattan , The Bronx, Queens , Brooklyn, Nassau County , and Suffolk County. Family Court will grant standing to any persons who share a blood relationship, a close personal or intimate relationship or who share a child in common. We shall begin with the most common type of relationship; parents who share a child in common. Paternity The threshold question in any family matter involving a child is paternity . Has it been established? This can be done in many different ways, including DNA Testing, Birth Certificate or other documentation and/or admission, including holding the child out to the public as your own. (For more information with regard to Paternity click on New York Paternity Lawyer .) Child Custody The legal standard The New York Family Court uses in determining custody is “what is in the best interest of the child”. Once Paternity has been established the issues of Child Custody & Visitation along with Child Support are decided. We will focus first on Child Custody to determine who will be the custodial parent and thus the parent entitled to receive Child support. Each New York Family Lawyer in our office advises each of our clients that there are three (3) main types of Child Custody: Full Custody , Joint Custody , and Residential Custody. Full Custody gives that parent the authority to make all decisions for the child without consent of the other. The only obligation of the parent in full custody is to inform the non-custodial parent of major issues and decisions that are ongoing with regard to the child. Joint Custody is exactly what it implies; the non-custodial parent is given equal decision making with regard to all major issues in the child’s life such as education, medical and religious decisions. The final type of Custody is Residential Custody and gives the parent who receives it the right to have the child with him or her. As any New York Family Lawyer will tell you, the next step in a Family Court Matter, after Paternity and Child Custody have been established, is Child Support . If there is a Child Custody order in place or a Child Custody case is ongoing, the court, in all probability, has issued a temporary custody order. Either way that custodial parent is now entitled to Child Support. Thus, the non-custodial parent is obligated to pay child support. The standard child support guidelines are as follows: One Child = 17%, Two children = 25%, Three Children = 29%, Four Children = 31%, Five Children or more = 33%. There are many issues that the court evaluates including day care expenses, medical expenses, etc. in determining a final Child Support award. (For more detail use the following link to Child Support Lawyer ) Child Visitation Another vital issue the Family Court will consider is Child Visitation for the non-custodial parent. While most people are aware that “Standard Visitation” is every other weekend, alternating holidays and 4 weeks vacation, our New York Family Lawyers will tell you that many judges have become more flexible and liberal with visitation if they believe there is a good parent seeking the extra visitation. Part of the reason for the new view of the Family Court is that the courts do believe it is in the best interest of the child to have two parents actively involved in the child’s life. (To read more about Visitation follow the link to New York Visitation Lawyer .) New York Divorce Any Divorce Lawyer will tell you that all Divorce Matters are heard in the Supreme Court of the State of New York. Each county has a part regardless of whether it is in New York City ( Manhattan , Brooklyn, Queens , The Bronx, or Staten Island). Long Island (Nassau County and Suffolk County) has their own Matrimonial Parts of Supreme Court. Any Manhattan Divorce Lawyer will tell you a Divorce is the legal dissolution of a marriage. Be aware, there is no common law marriage in New York State. A condition of having a divorce granted in New York is having grounds for a divorce. Grounds are a legal excuse to dissolve the marriage i.e., abandonment, constructive abandonment and cruel and unusual treatment, which are the most common grounds for Divorce in New York State. If there are children in the marriage then the process discussed above with regard to Child Custody , Child Visitation, Paternity, and Child Support all move forward accordingly. After grounds and child issues, the next highly litigated area in a Divorce is “distribution of the assets.” A Manhattan Divorce Lawyer will tell you this covers three (3) major areas; Equitable Distribution (dividing the assets fairly), Maintenance or spousal support , and Occupancy of the home. Equitable Distribution covers all assets that were attained from the date of marriage and forward. However, there can be exceptions such as inheritance and “prenup” exclusions. There can be issues of valuation of the assets. The distribution of the assets can be contentious, but in the majority of cases there is a 50/50 distribution. Spousal Support and Maintenance There are two types of Spousal Maintenance; Rehabilitative and Permanent . Maintenance is awarded in instances where there is a primary “bread winner.” If a spouse has given up a career or delayed a career, the court’s main goal is to have maintenance awarded with the hope of compensating the spouse and giving the spouse time to reestablish (when possible) the career that was delayed or interrupted. The court will place a time period on this type of maintenance, if they believe the party can reestablish their career, and this is called Rehabilitative Maintenance . If the court believes there is no opportunity to reestablish the lost career ...