Family Law Attorney
Queens, New York Area

Don’t let the Criminal Justice System take advantage of you
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Jeffrey D. Cohen, Esq.
A Family Law Attorney in Queens, New York

Child support:

When a parent, whether a father or mother, have no domestic relationship with the custodial parent of their child, they are required by law to pay child support. New York State adopts the Child Support Standards Act (C.S.S.A.) which provides child support guidelines, though parents may agree to deviate from them. Jeffrey Cohen can help you negotiate an appropriate amount of child support. Call Jeffrey Cohen at 718-275-5900 with experience in Queens, Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn, Nassau and Suffolk Counties.

His office will also aggressively pursue and prosecute cases against “deadbeat” parents who are delinquent or simply refuse to pay their child support obligation pursuant to court order. In many of these cases, his office has successfully recovered legal fees when a parent willfully violates an Order of Child Support.

Paternity:

A father who is not married to his child’s mother has no parental rights or responsibilities unless paternity is legally established.

Our office can get results:

1. Fathers who want to establish paternity and assert their custody rights.
2. Mothers who must prove paternity to request a child support order.
3. A willing father may sign an Acknowledgement of Paternity, or an unwilling father may be compelled to accept an Order of Filiations after undergoing a genetic marker (DNA) test to determine if he is the biological father of the child.

Juvenile Delinquency

Crimes committed by children ages eight to 15 are handled and prosecuted in the family court. The process is similar to adult criminal court, but with different terminology that avoids terms such as “crime” and “defendant.” Still, juvenile delinquency (JD) proceedings can have major consequences, including incarceration. Our lawyers help keep your child out of confinement, and in serious cases we fight to keep the charges from being moved to adult criminal court. Very often these cases proceed to trial. Our office has substantial trial experience in JD proceedings and has been successful in having cases dismissed against some of these children.

Order enforcement and modification

Family court orders are not monitored for compliance, and changes cannot be made without permission of the court. Jeffrey Cohen can help you:

1.    Enforce a court order when the other party is not upholding its terms
2.    Obtain a modification of an order when new circumstances justify the change
3.    We can handle enforcement and modification of all family court orders, including child custody, child support and spousal support.

Family offense petitions

If you believe someone from you family has committed an offense against you but you don’t want them arrested, but want an order of protection, you can go into family court and file a family offense petition. Mr. Cohen can help you prepare the petition and appear in court and aggressively pursue and argue to the judge all the reasons why an order of protection should be ordered. Whether you want a full stay away order for your family member to stay away from you or a limited order of protection to refrain from assaulting, harassing or stalking you, you have rights! Contact Jeffrey Cohen an have a consultation.

New York Child Custody Proceedings

The Law Office of Jeffrey D. Cohen places a special emphasis on helping parents and children through the difficulties of child custody proceedings. Jeffrey Cohen has personally handled many custody cases in more than 12 years of practice in Suffolk, Nassau, Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Brooklyn counties, representing parents as their attorney.

Your child custody petition

We begin by filing your custody petition with the family court or an Order To Show Cause in the Supreme Court. Our lawyers make a strong and clear argument for why you are a better caretaker of your child. The overall consideration is always the child’s or children’s best interests.

If you are seeking a modification of an existing order, we demonstrate the new circumstances that warrant a change or modification in custody. In either scenario, your initial petition is a critical first step. We construct a solid document that starts your custody efforts on a note of determination.

Your first court appearance and the temporary custody order

You must be prepared for numerous court appearances throughout the custody proceedings. At the first appearance, the judge will have questions for our attorneys as well as the other parent’s attorneys. You may not be asked to speak at all, but a temporary custody order is often issued at this first appearance. We vigorously negotiate to achieve a temporary order for both custody and visitation that you and your child will be comfortable with in the short term.

Your child’s psychological evaluation

By the time of your second court appearance, a family court judge may suggest that your child, and the parents, receive a psychological evaluation. We encourage you to agree to this request — because it shows the judge you are genuinely interested in your child’s emotional health. The results of the evaluation also help us frame our final arguments for your child’s best interests.

Your custody hearing

If neither parent offers to concede and the custody matter cannot be resolved, a custody hearing is necessary. Our attorneys have substantial trial experience in custody matters. This experience is vital because the trial is the ultimate determination of child custody. You need an experienced trial attorney to competently advocate for your position. Witnesses are called to testify about the child’s needs and your fitness for custody. You and the other parent will likely be called to testify, and sometimes even the child. A custody trial is emotionally demanding on everyone involved, and our lawyers make every effort to minimize the stress on your family.