Ronkonkoma Child Custody Lawyer

Fathers’ Rights – Child Custody – Child Support – Adoptions - Annulment
New York Lawyer in Suffolk County

As a broad legal area, family law touches many aspects of domestic relationships. The Law Offices of Susan A. Kassel, P.C., offers representation in a variety of family law categories, including the emerging area of fathers’ rights.

Fathers’ Rights

Advancements made in fathers’ rights are changing the ability of fathers to participate and be an active presence in their children’s lives. Through present-day recognition of the important role fathers play in shaping children’s futures, more legal victories are occurring on behalf of fathers to help them gain custody, receive child support and increase visitation rights along with parenting responsibilities.

The arrangement of awarding physical custody solely to the mother has become inordinately unjust for fathers in today’s society, in which the majority of women take part in the work force and are no longer stay-at-home mothers. The scales of justice are turning from decades of imbalance where father’s rights were made irrelevant by denied physical custody, limited visitation and one-sided child support responsibilities.

Over the years, divorce rates have escalated. Increasingly because of divorce, the father’s absence in his children’s lives has become prevalent and created concern. Children who lost their father as a role model have been negatively affected in contrast to children whose fathers have participated in their upbringing, education, school activities and meetings. Children with involved fathers are more likely to get good grades, be active in sports and other activities, and stay out of trouble.

We believe in protecting father’s rights and represent fathers in custody, visitation, support and other issues.

Parental Rights

Establishing parental rights may revolve around a variety of situations such as paternity, parental negligence, foster care, surrogate mothers, guardianships, sperm donors, same-sex parents and a host of other issues.

Grandparents’ Rights

On occasions when couples divorce, the parent awarded physical custody of the children might deny or eliminate contact with the former spouse’s parents. When the court determines that lack of grandparent contact is not in the best interests of the children, it may rule in favor of an ongoing relationship that grants visitation rights to grandparents. Such situations often include circumstances in which children previously lived with grandparents or otherwise established strong bonds.

Child Custody

Based on the welfare of the children, the court will determine arrangements for physical custody (the parent the child will live with) and legal custody (decision-making authority for education, religious upbringing, medical and social activities). Joint custody involves shared legal or physical custody by both parents. Sole custody assigns the responsibility to one parent for physical or legal custody or both physical and legal custody, in which case the other parent may have visitation rights.

Child Support

In New York, child support is calculated according to a formula based on New York statutes that take into consideration the number of children and income of the parents.

Spousal Support

Spousal support, also referred to as alimony or spousal maintenance, may be granted based on the income of both spouses, the length of the marriage and the ability of the spouse requiring support to become self-supportive.

Orders of Protection

When a spouse or children are in threat of danger based on domestic violence, a lawyer can assist by obtaining an order of protection, also called a restraining order, which may restrain the violent party from further threatening or harassing the family or establish proximity restrictions that prohibit the party from approaching. Orders of protection are frequently granted as a result of acts of violence, harassment, threats, abuse, stalking or other unacceptable behavior.

Adoption

Legal guidance is invaluable for assistance in making adoption decisions. Many alternatives exist, such as international adoption, U.S. agency adoption, private adoption, stepparent adoption, open adoption and closed adoption. Understanding the legalities involved, precautions to take and advantages and disadvantages from a legal perspective can make the adoption process go more smoothly.

Annulments

In New York, grounds for annulment may be based on various factors, such as one party being a minor (under 18 years of age) or the marriage arising from force, duress or fraud. An experienced family law attorney can explain grounds for annulment and help you evaluate whether annulment is appropriate for your situation.

For compassionate legal counsel along with experienced and aggressive representation, please contact the Law Offices of Susan A. Kassel, P.C., at 631-738-6761 or online. We will arrange a consultation at no charge to discuss your concerns.

The Law Offices of Susan A. Kassel in Ronkonkoma, New York focuses on the practice areas of Criminal Law, Family Law, Divorce and Estate Planning & Probate.

We serve Suffolk County and the local communities of Ronkonkoma, Riverhead, Bayshore, Islip, Holtsville, Stony Brook and Babylon. Contact a skilled Suffolk County Family Law Attorney.