ERFF NEWS & LINKS
Social Networking
Be aware that anything you do online - e-mail, text, Facebook, Myspace, YouTube or LinkedIn can come back to haunt you. Even if you delete an e-mail, it may still reside on your hard drive and may be discoverable by an expert. Any text messages, e-mails or information on your cell phone can be retrieved electronically and used in court.
· Avoid online references to money or spending. That innocent mention of your upcoming vacation to Europe may belie your claims that you don't have enough money to pay alimony.
· Supervise your children's use of cell phones, e-mail and the like. Anything children do can reflect on you as the parent in a divorce proceeding.
· Create a new, web-based e-mail address to ensure that no one but you has access. Stop using your current e-mail address, if possible.
· Password-protect your files, but realize that an expert may be able to get around those passwords anyway,
· If you share a computer with your spouse, and you believe that the hard drive may contain information that would be relevant to your divorce case, let your attorney know. He or she can have the hard drive imaged to preserve the evidence.
· Consider that your spouse may have installed spyware on your computer to keep track of what you're doing online. Do not, however, install spyware on your spouse's computer-that may run afoul of the law.
· stop posting to your Myspace or Facebook accounts. If you maintain a blog, avoid posting anything personal or about your divorce. Anything you post may become evidence in your case
Interesting News articles around the United States
(August 16, 2010) New York now has a no-fault divorce
option. New York is the last state in the United States to pass no-fault
divorce laws. Until now, a spouse who filed for divorce had to allege
grounds for divorce including adultery, abandonment, imprisonment or
cruelty.
While signing the new legislation into law on Sunday, August 15th, Governor
Paterson noted "finally, New York has brought its divorce laws into the 21st
century. . . These bills fix a broken process that produced extended and
contentious litigation, poisoned feelings between the parties and harmed the
interests of those persons -- too often women -- who did not have sufficient
financial wherewithal to protect their legal rights."
New Yorkers can now divorce alleging that their marriage has been
irretrievably broken down for six months or more. Simultaneous with
enactment of no-fault divorce, laws for providing guidelines for fixing
temporary spousal support (or maintenance) and attorney's fees were enacted.
The legislation created a formula and list of factors to govern such awards.
The purpose of these new laws, according to Governor Patterson, would be to.
. .
" .. . allow for speedy resolution of the maintenance issue, and prevent
less well-off parties to divorce proceedings from falling into poverty
during litigation, because they lack the resources to obtain a temporary
maintenance order."
Legislation was enacted that would award attorney fees for the "less monied"
spouse in a divorce case. This will even out the financial playing field
in Court. Hopefully, the elimination of negative allegations concerning
marital fault will encourage parties to consider resolving issues, rather
than engaging in protracted litigation.
New York -The Governor signed the Parental Delegation Bill into law . This law allows parents to delegate authority to a caregiver to enroll their child in school or to take the child to the doctor. This legislation is extremely important to grandparents who are caring for a child on an informal basis. NY was one of the few states that did not have such a law.
Democrat & chronicle article, printed in the January 28th, 2004 edition
White Plains,NY WOMAN GUILTY IN CHILD CUSTODY CASE A woman who spirited her infant son to China during a custody dispute and kept him there while his father died of cancer _ was convicted by a jury Tuesday of just a misdemeanor and was ordered freed from jail.
Jing Xiong Kelly, 42 was found guilty of second-degree custodial interference. Because she has been in jail for more than a year _ longer than the toughest sentence possible_ Judge Barbara Zimbelli ordered her to be freed Tuesday. !
Democrat & Chronicle News item printed in January 8th, 2003 edition
CUSTODY LAW GIVES GRANDPARENTS HELP A state law that takes effect this week will afford grandparents a better chance of gaining custody of their grandchildren under some circumstances.
Under the law, when a child has been separated from his or her parents for 24 consecutive months – while residing at his or her grandparents’ home – the grandparents’ have legal standing in certain custody proceedings.
The new law also requires social service agencies to locate grandparents if their grandchildren are removed from their parents’ home because of abuse or neglect. At that time social service workers must also inform the grandparents’ that they are eligible to become foster parents or to attempt to adopt their grandchildren.
According to AARP, more than 400,000 grandchildren in the United States live in households headed by a grandparent or another nonparental relative.
Links You Can Use
The Mediation Center
Dictionary for Dads
Monroe County Child & Family Services
NYS Laws Courts Police, Senate, Assy. etc.
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
NYS Court Help on Child Custody & Visitation
Pro Bono Legal Help
Federal Parent Locator Service
NYC Area Attorneys
Equal Parenting Party - Suffolk County NY
Equal Parenting Party Blog
Domestic Abuse Help Line for Men
