New York Family Legal Questions

Hi -- I understand and respect your concern that FC will be upset with you for defaulting -- that is, simply not showing up -- but it seems clear to me that you have done whatever you needed to do to let them know that you are withdrawing your petition.  People do it all the time!   There is no criminal punishment for defaulting on a petition.   I would write a letter directly to the judge, copy to the FC Clerk, advising that you are withdrawing your petition since you and your GF are trying to work things out between yourselves.   If you wish, ask for confirmation that the Court has removed your case from the calendar. Hope this helps ... Read More

It is clear that you retain litigant's rights with respect to whether your ex-husband can take your child hunting, particularly if you and he cannot resolve the issue between yourselves.  If you feel that strongly that hunting is not an activity with which you agree and you will not consent to ex-H taking your child hunting, you have a couple of options.   Since you don't have money for a retainer, i would suggest that Supreme Court, where you got your judgment of divorce, is probably not going to be good for you -- and the turn around time is probably too long.    However, under ordinary circumstances, you could seek to enjoin and restrain him from taking the boy hunting in an Order to Show Cause.   I just don't know how comfortable you are representing yourself there.   You could start a petition for enforcement of your parenting agreement in Family Court since it's clear that he is making a unilateral decision with which you disagree.  You can represent yourself in Family Court as well.   The problem is going to be the turn around time again -- and you would have to ask a judge for some sort of stay of your ex taking the boy hunting in the next 2 weeks.   That's why, under ordinary circumstances, it's always better to bring these thing to Supreme Court to obtain injuctive relief.   I'm not sure how quickly a FC judge will set your petition down for argument, but time is critical and you would need to advise the judge what the timeframe is. Clearly, however, you should do something to enjoin the ex from making unilateral decisions that are against your principles. I hope this helps.  ... Read More

Samanatha -- much depends on whether you had a consistent relationship with your step-brothers. This would be gauged by how many times you saw them during the week/month, whether you celebrated occasions with them, if you had a real solid relationship with the boys. The Family Court Act has some difficult obstacles to overcome but if you can prove that you had a close relationship with the boys and that it is in their best interests for you to have ongoing access with them, you would have to bring a petition in Family Court.   I hope this helps.  ... Read More