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This is a bit of a complicated question. Legally, whoever is named on the mortgage is responsible for it. This means that the bank or other mortgage holder can sue you for it. In the context of a New York divorce proceeding, the judge can order that one party pay the mortgage, or can divide the mortgage payments between the parties. This is usually based on income. The judge can also make orders regarding child support, spousal support, sole occupancy of the house, and can order one spouse to pay all or a portion of the other spouse’s legal fees. When the divorce becomes final, the judgment may continue to order one spouse to pay all or most of the mortgage. It may also order that the house be sold,…Read More

In New York City, a landlord must give written notice to a tenant to vacate the property. If there is a lease, the lease will usually have a provision determining what kind of notice must be given, how long a time period the notice must state, and how it must be served. If there is no lease, the tenancy is usually a month-to-month tenancy. In this case, a 30 day notice of termination must be served. Normally, it terminates the tenancy on the last day of a month. An occupant may not be a tenant. They can be a licensee or squatter. Either of these must be served with a 10 day notice to quit. There are two exceptions to the requirement that an occupant must be served a written…Read More

This issue is usually dealt with in the divorce. Normally, the divorce judgment will give one parent primary physical custody, and the other parent will get visitation, or parenting time. Usually, there will be a set schedule. If there is a schedule, it has to be followed, unless both parties agree to change it. If one party wants change it, they can file a petition in Family Court. However, some divorce judgments do not have a schedule. They may say “as agreed to between the parties,” or something similar. In that case, the custodial parent does not have to give visitation. The other parent has a right to file for visits, usually in Family Court. Then the court must decide what is in the best interest of the children.Read More

Joint custody can mean a couple of different things. One type of joint custody is joint legal custody. This means that the parents, or whoever is on the order of joint custody, must come to an agreement on all matters involving the health, education, and general welfare of the child. It doesn’t mean that the parents have to agree on every little decision they make regarding the child, but it does mean they have to agree on important decisions. It also doesn’t mean that, in an emergency, the parent who has the child can’t make a decision. But if there is time to consult the other parent, they should be consulted. Another type of joint custody is joint physical custody. This means that the parents have roughly equal parenting time…Read More

A tenant can withhold paying rent only in certain situations. Under the Warranty of Habitability provision of New York State law, every New York tenant has the right to a “livable, safe and sanitary apartment.” To withhold rent, the housing must be unsafe or unsuitable for living. Examples include not having hot water or heat in the home, or the landlord failing to rid the apartment of a pest infestation. Before withholding rent, tenants should take steps to have problems fixed. A tenant should notify the landlord of any issues, such as a leaky roof or a broken heater, as soon as they arise. If the landlord doesn’t respond, the tenant should send a certified letter detailing the issue and their attempts to have it remedied. If this fails as…Read More

Family Court handles many different kinds of cases, include the following: Juvenile delinquency Child support Spousal support Paternity Termination of parental rights Adoption Custody Guardianship Visitation Persons (juveniles) in need of supervision Family offenses and orders of protection Child protective (abuse and neglect) Each of these cases is different with different rules and procedures. For instance, in some proceedings hearsay evidence is admissible, in some cases it is not. In some cases parties are entitled to emergency hearings. The guiding principle in most Family Court cases is that the court is family and child centered, and it is the best interest of the child that is paramount.Read More

When a landlord rents an apartment, the conditions in the apartment have to meet a legal standard, which is called the warranty of habitability. Any conditions which do not meet this standard are violations of the warranty of habitability. These can include broken plaster, peeling paint, no or inadequate heat, and many others. If there are bad conditions in an apartment, a tenant has several options. The tenant can report the violations to the Office of Code Enforcement. The tenant can, in certain situations, repair the violations and deduct the cost from the rent. The tenant can withhold the rent. This can be risky, since the landlord may bring a nonpayment proceeding, although the bad conditions can be a defense to the rent. The tenant can also bring an action…Read More

A few things can happen if you don’t show up for your Family Court case. If you’re the petitioner, your case will probably be dismissed, if you have not notified the court and told them why you are not there. If your case is dismissed, you can usually file it again. If you are lucky, the court may adjourn the case to another day. You probably won’t get a second chance, though. If you are the respondent, the court may proceed without you. This could mean that the court will hold a hearing, and the petitioner will likely win the case. If this happens, you can try to vacate the default judgment, but you need legal grounds. In certain cases, such as child support, child neglect, juvenile delinquency, and cases…Read More

In New York, there are two main types of proceedings that a landlord can bring against a tenant in Housing Court. The first is a nonpayment proceeding, and the second is a holdover proceeding. In a nonpayment proceeding, the landlord is suing the tenant for back rent. After making a legally sufficient demand for the back rent, the landlord serves the tenant with a nonpayment petition. Once the case gets in front of a judge, it can either be settled or go to a trial. Generally, the tenant is given a certain amount of time to pay the back rent. If it is paid, the case is dismissed. If not, the tenant is evicted. The tenant also can bring up defenses, such as bad conditions. In a holdover proceeding, the…Read More

The grounds for divorce are different in each state. All states have some kind of no-fault divorce; many states also have fault-based divorce. In New York, you need grounds to get a divorce. The following grounds can be used to obtain a divorce in New York. Cruel and inhuman treatment; Abandonment; Imprisonment of the other spouse; Adultery; Separation under a written agreement; Irretrievable breakdown of the marriage. Each of these grounds has different requirements. The last two are the only no-fault divorces available in New York. Nowadays, irretrievable breakdown is the most common basis for divorce in New York. This does not require alleging any wrongdoing of the other spouse. It also doesn’t require being legally separated first. It merely requires that the relationship between the spouses has broken down…Read More