Mass Black Judge

Attorney Sari M. Friedman provides informative articles on family law that can help you better understand your rights and options.

Family lawyers specialize in handling legal disputes that involve spouses, children and other relatives. They advise clients of their options before representing them at court hearings.

Divorce

People tend to associate family law with divorce cases. Divorce is a legal separation that involves filing a petition with the court system and can include complex issues like property division, alimony and child custody arrangements. Divorce attorneys understand the intricacies of such proceedings well, so they can guide clients through them efficiently.

Divorce attorneys provide their clients with advice about dissolving an intimate relationship, helping them understand the financial and personal repercussions. Furthermore, these legal professionals may assist in giving legal custody to other family members or establishing temporary arrangements.

Family law attorneys offer services to assist clients with all manner of domestic legal matters, from adoptions and conservatorships to divorce and child custody cases. In most instances, however, those specializing in this area focus their practice more heavily on these cases than on anything else.

Before selecting an attorney to represent your specific needs, it is wise to interview multiple practitioners first. Different lawyers specialize in different areas of family law and may lack sufficient experience in others; therefore it is imperative that you find one who provides comprehensive representation across the spectrum as well as strong advocacy in courtroom proceedings.

Child Custody

Child custody will always be one of the central issues in any divorce, legal separation or annulment proceeding that includes children. Child custody arrangements will ultimately be decided upon by the courts based on what is best for their wellbeing and development.

Custody cases can be filed separately or as part of a divorce or separation proceeding in Supreme Court. A knowledgeable family law attorney can help clients decide the type of custody they prefer: legal vs physical. There are two main forms of custody – legal and physical; with legal custody being responsible for religious upbringing, education and healthcare decisions while in most instances shared legal custody will be awarded; in rare instances sole legal custody may be awarded instead.

Physical custody refers to where your child resides on a daily basis. Most parents will decide who will provide this care; if they cannot do so themselves, however, the court can appoint one parent sole physical custody or share responsibility equally among both.

In cases where parents cannot reach an agreement, a judge can assign a “Law Guardian”. This individual conducts interviews with the child to ascertain their wishes and inform the court. Their final decision typically reflects these wishes.

Visitation

Child visitation cases typically give noncustodial parents the right to spend time with their children on a schedule that best meets their work and life circumstances, but sometimes modifications need to be requested for various reasons.

Depending on whether there are concerns that visiting with either parent may harm a child (for instance through physical abuse or neglect), a judge may order supervised visitation to take place. Supervised visitation could be conducted by you, another family member, or even professional agencies.

In some instances, judges will convene a “tripartite meeting,” in which custodial parents, noncustodial parents and the child will all meet together with a judge present to discuss possible changes to custody or visitation orders that would benefit their best interests as a group. Should they agree upon such changes being necessary, then court approval of any new schedules can take place.

As soon as it comes to dealing with family law matters in Manhattan, having an experienced Manhattan family law attorney on your side is paramount. A good attorney will help file and gather necessary paperwork and evidence in support of your claim; inform you which of litigation, mediation or collaborative law might best fit your situation; guide negotiations towards reaching an agreement if possible and prepare you to effectively present arguments before a judge if your case goes to trial.

Adoption

Adopting a child can be a truly transformative and altruistic act; yet the legal aspects can often be challenging and lengthy. Working with an experienced family law attorney who specializes in adoption will ease this process for both parties involved, whether seeking adoption themselves or biological parents looking to place a child for adoption.

Cedeno Law Group, PLLC’s attorneys have experience handling private and agency adoptions for step-parent adoptions, second-parent adoptions, international adoptions, adult adoptions and adult foster home approvals. We understand Federal Permanency Act laws as well as New York State adoption regulations and Foster Home approval processes well.

We will assist in selecting a reliable adoption agency or proceeding independently with an adoption, and filing all the required paperwork in time. An attorney will also work closely with your service provider to ensure compliance with state laws as well as to protect the best interests of each child in any given adoption case.

If the birth parents must terminate their parental rights prior to an adoption, we can offer our services as “Attorney ad Litems,” court-appointed lawyers appointed to represent a child’s best interests in court proceedings. This can be especially helpful when parents cannot agree about what is in their children’s best interest; our lawyers will ensure all evidence is presented accurately before judges make final decisions based on all available facts.

Prenuptial Agreements

Prenuptial agreements, or “prenups,” are contracts entered into prior to marriage that provide details on each party’s assets and how any property acquired during marriage would be distributed upon divorce; as well as detailing who will take responsibility for debt payments in case the marriage ends and provide guidelines on possible spousal support payments should the marriage end.

Though many might view prenups as solely relevant for couples with significant assets, all couples can gain from discussing finances prior to marriage. Doing so can prevent miscommunication and lessen any potential for conflict later.

When selecting a family law attorney to assist with your prenup, it’s essential that you select someone with experience and skills who you feel comfortable working with. As this process can be stressful, having someone friendly and approachable by your side can make the experience less painful.

Prenuptial agreements (prenups) can protect your interests if you have children from previous relationships, or wish to leave separate assets to them after your death. They can also help if one spouse forgoes their career in order to raise a family – they would like their earnings preserved should their marriage end, for instance. Unfortunately, courts will not enforce certain prenup terms such as those related to child custody/visitation agreements and ones that could limit future income earnings of either party.

Guardianship

People without advance directives or revocable trusts may require legal guardians to make health, legal and financial decisions for them. Our attorneys can assist in this process.

A guardian may be anyone, such as a parent, close relative, friend, acquaintance or professional who specializes in this area. Legal guardians are charged with taking care of everyday needs for someone such as housing, food, clothing and healthcare; in addition to this they may also manage an estate or property conservatorship as part of their responsibility.

Guardianship may be necessary in cases of mental incapacity and/or age incapacity. Guardianship could also be necessary when there is evidence of unexplained financial abuse such as spending sprees, comingling of funds or illegal loans that is unexplained by normal methods of management.

The Court can appoint an attorney to represent an Alleged Incapacitated Person (AIP), or they may hire their own. A Court Evaluator will conduct a thorough investigation of the case, interview AIP and interested parties, and make a recommendation to the Court. Finally, at an evidentiary hearing held to consider guardianship requirements, all evidence will be presented and discussed before being brought before a decision-making panel for hearing and possible guardianship determination is taken by the Court.