"Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgiving, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings."  William Arthur Wards             “The struggle ends when gratitude begins.” Neale Donald Walsch.               Thanksgiving is upon us. A time for us to take some time to reflect where we are in our lives and what blessings we have received [...]

Parents who are trying to coparent after or during a divorce or separation, are sometimes under the impression that joint custody means similar parenting. This may cause disappointment, unrealistic expectations, and tension.  Most parents have different parenting styles.  Unfortunately, many times the different parenting styles when the parties were together compliment each other.  What I mean by that [...]

In many custody cases, parties are awarded joint custody. That is the expectation in the law unless there is a good legal argument against it, such as domestic violence, addiction, or mental health issues.  What many people are not aware of is that with joint custody comes joint decision making. This is what joint custody means [...]

For all those dog lovers out there, there was a recent case that seems to depart from the prior case law regarding pets during a divorce.  As society has become pet focused and there is an awareness of animal rights the idea that pets are just chattel and property no longer seems appropriate in our” enlightened” [...]

The civility of attorneys and professionalism has often been neglected and its importance may not be as prevalent as it was in days past.  However, there were two recent cases whereby the court looked at the behavior of an attorney in his own case and a litigant during his divorce trial and in observing the behavior [...]

There was a very interesting recent case in the Family Court involving a family offense petition whereby an ex-wife requested an order of protection stating that the ex-husband threatened to post a video of her on social media. The video was allegedly made when they were married in 2015.   During the trial, the ex-wife testified [...]

In another recent case, August 22, Z.A. v. A.A., 55697/21, Judge Castorina Jr., Supreme Court Judge, wrote a decision whereby a mother requested continued child support in a divorce and physical custody of their youngest child. Now the children were 24, 19, and 17.  The court had to determine where the children resided, especially the 19 year old [...]

I recently had a very encouraging exchange with a parent coordinator and collaborative professional in New York City named Randy Heller. We are working on a case together and we are using her services as a parent coordinator to help navigate and effectuate a joint legal custody arrangement for two parents with very young children.  It [...]

There was a very interesting Queens family law case published in the New York Law Journal. It involved a recent case where the court employed the new child support law for children over age 21, who are disabled or special needs signed by Governor Hochul in 2021.         In this case a mother requested continued support [...]

At the DePalo Law Firm we have noticed a trend in an increased number of relocation cases and parties leaving the jurisdiction as a result of COVID, working at home opportunities and job changes.  As many parents can work from home and because of the ease of movement from state to state, there has been an [...]