In a recent Staten Island case, Judge Ronald Castorina, Jr. granted custody, support, and an order of protection to the mother/wife in divorce proceedings.  This was a temporary order brought on by motion at the beginning of the case. There were allegations of mental health issues and drug use.  The court found it was in the [...]

Aster Flowers September, even though it means seven in Latin, (septem), is the ninth month of the year.The  old Roman calendar originally began in March until the Roman senate changed the calendar in 153 BC. In the original calendar, September was the seventh month. September became the  ninth month after the calendar was changed. September is also the first [...]

There have been two interesting cases since our lost blog in July.  There was a recent case support cast wherein the support magistrate denied an application made by the mother for the father to pay sorority costs for their daughter. The mother had filed an enforcement proceeding, stating that the father did not pay his pro [...]

Hello August!  Goodbye Summer!  August is the eighth day of the year and considered the last month of summer.  August 11 marks the end of the dog days of summer, which began on July 3.  August was named after a major figure of the ancient world, Augustus Caesar (63 BC through AD 14).  He was the first Roman Emperor (though [...]

In another interesting case in the Supreme Court of New York, T.H. v. M.D., a wife found guilty of contempt, for non-compliance of a court order, satisfied her purge amount by serving her full incarceration.  What this means is that she went to jail rather than paying up or doing what she was ordered to do by [...]

In a recent case in the Third Department, a petitioner mother and father had joint legal custody of a child with the father having primary physical custody pursuant to a court order. The order provided that the mother would have parenting time with the child as she and the father mutually agreed.  In 2020, the mother [...]

July is the seventh month of the year.  (Wow, is 2023 flying by.) July was named in honor of Julius Caesar, (born 100 B.C., and died 44 B.C.)  Julius Caesar is responsible for the calendar as we know it – 365 days and for the existence of a leap year which occurs every 4 years.  July's birthstone is [...]

William Shakespeare once said, “It is a wise father who knows his child” The New York Legislature is taking this quote by the Bard very literally. A new law was put into effect in January, called the Parental Equity Act. This law is a big departure from prior New York laws relating to consent rights [...]

There were a number of recently decided cases that continue to protect litigants with courts doing the right thing. In the Estate of Benedek, 2019-1371, the Surrogate found that the daughter of a decedent’s who petitioned the court to have the executor, her brother removed was found to be without merit and the petition was dismissed.  This was [...]

June is Busting Out All Over.              As I began thinking about the blog for June, a song from Carousel, one of my favorite Rodger and Hammerstein musicals, came into my mind. The song is appropriately, “June is Busting Out All Over.” The song captures the feeling and intensity of June. Here is a snippet of the [...]