My husband is currently seeking custody of his children in NY State and at the initial hearing, both parents asked for a continuation in order to seek counsel. My husband applied for a lawyer through the clerk's office and I assume his ex-wife did as well since she often makes reference to her lawyer when emailing, etc. We have a received a court date but no lawyers have been assigned to us and we fear we are walking into a trap unprepared. Is this something we can tackle without a lawyer and if so, how should we prepare over the next month? Thanks in advance.

I don't think you should assume you are walking into a trap. Think positive please and get a lawyer to be on the safe side. It may be the best dollar you ever spent for peace of mind throughout this ordeal.

Good luck !

Ms tickle

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Originally Posted by tickle

I dont think you should assume you are walking into a trap. Think positive please and get a lawyer to be on the safe side. It may be the best dollar you ever spent for peace of mind throughout this ordeal.

good luck !

ms tickle

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You're right, we're trying to remain positive though its been difficult as of late. I thank you for the advice and well wishes, though.

I think we definitely need a lawyer, however we cannot afford one who isn't court appointed. With only a month to go, time is of the essence and there is so much to go over before heading in to court. How can we address this with the court without dragging the matter on further?

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Originally Posted by lunarlight

My husband is currently seeking custody of his children in NY State and at the initial hearing, both parents asked for a continuation in order to seek counsel. My husband applied for a lawyer through the clerk's office and I assume his ex-wife did as well since she often makes reference to her lawyer when emailing, etc. We have a received a court date but no lawyers have been assigned to us and we fear we are walking into a trap unprepared. Is this something we can tackle without a lawyer and if so, how should we prepare over the next month? Thanks in advance.

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I would most definitely NOT appear on a custody case without an Attorney. Have you followed up to see why she has assigned counsel (if she does) and you do not?

There are fairly strict financial guidelines and I though the matter had to involve child abuse or neglect in order to get assigned counsel, it's not just an across the board family court assigned counsel.

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Originally Posted by JudyKayTee

I would most definitely NOT appear on a custody case without an Attorney. Have you followed up to see why she has assigned counsel (if she does) and you do not?

There are fairly strict financial guidlines and I though the matter had to involve child abuse or neglect in order to get assigned counsel, it's not just an across the board family court assigned counsel.

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Thank you for your advice.. We are following up this afternoon so we'll hopefully get some kind of answer. I believe we are each to get separate counsel because there is another matter involving an order of restraint which I believe will be heard at the same time.

Is it normal to get a court date first before a lawyer? And would there normally be time to gather info before the date or will the lawyer only be present at the time of the date (which doesn't make a whole lot of sense)? Thanks for everyone's help!

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Originally Posted by lunarlight

Thank you for your advice.. We are following up this afternoon so we'll hopefully get some kind of answer. I believe we are each to get separate counsel because there is another matter involving an order of restraint which I believe will be heard at the same time.

Is it normal to get a court date first before a lawyer? And would there normally be time to gather info before the date or will the lawyer only be present at the time of the date (which doesn't make a whole lot of sense)? Thanks for everyone's help!

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It can go either way - I always think the earlier the Attorney gets on board the better, the more time for prep, but it works either way.

I think you've made a good decision and hope you will come back and let us know how things play out.

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Originally Posted by JudyKayTee

It can go either way - I always think the earlier the Attorney gets on board the better, the more time for prep, but it works either way.

I think you've made a good decision and hope you will come back and let us know how things play out.

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Today we learned that the judge has yet to review whether we qualify for a court-appointed attorney or not. No word on whether his ex-wife was assigned an attorney. I have to agree, the sooner we find counsel the better... I can't imagine going in with a very strong case the day of.

If there is anyone who has been in a similar situation, I'd be very interested to hear of your experience. Many thanks.

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Originally Posted by lunarlight

Today we learned that the judge has yet to review whether we qualify for a court-appointed attorney or not. No word on whether his ex-wife was assigned an attorney. I have to agree, the sooner we find counsel the better... I can't imagine going in with a very strong case the day of.

If there is anyone who has been in a similar situation, I'd be very interested to hear of your experience. Many thanks.

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I'm an investigator. I've investigated a fair number of these. I've sat through any number in Court, sometimes testifying.

What is your question?

I'm not sure there is a question, as such. Just looking for advice on what is measuring up to be a very loooooong and bumpy ride.

We obviously need an attorney, but is it even possible to get one when one can't be afforded? My husband and I have studied enough law and done tons of research on our own to know we have a solid case but that isn't enough.

In the meantime, there have already been serious violations on visitation, but the law guardian is dragging her feet and hasn't issued the paperwork necessary to file a grievance. The judge hasn't made a decision regarding our application for a public defender, etc. etc.

There are many things that need to be considered by the courts (psychological/financial abuse, mental state, parental alienation to name a few) in order for a fair decision to be made regarding custody.

Ugh!

Turns out we've been denied court appointed counsel. I'm not sure if they considered his income before or after child-support or even considered that he is continuing to pay support even though one of his children currently lives with us (no reduction or reimbursements have been made via his ex-wife).

So now we need to find a lawyer we can afford, fast! I've scoured the web and have learned that free legal representation is only available to those at or below 125.0% of the poverty line. We are above that on paper but are barely making it, especially in today's economic climate. Are there resources available I'm not aware of which could be of assistance to us?

If we cannot find a lawyer, what do we need to do to prepare to represent ourselves?

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Originally Posted by lunarlight

Turns out we've been denied court appointed counsel. I'm not sure if they considered his income before or after child-support or even considered that he is continuing to pay support even though one of his children currently lives with us (no reduction or reimbursements have been made via his ex-wife).

So now we need to find a lawyer we can afford, fast! I've scoured the web and have learned that free legal representation is only available to those at or below 125.0% of the poverty line. We are above that on paper but are barely making it, especially in today's economic climate. Are there resources available I'm not aware of which could be of assistance to us?

If we cannot find a lawyer, what do we need to do to prepare to represent ourselves?

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Wow - this is a rough one. The best you can do to prepare if you're in this alone is to list the issues (custody, support, visitation). What do you THINK the other side is going to argue. What are your defenses? You have to be brief and sort through the side issues, listing only the main issues.

Then you have to gather proof to support your side of the argument - and that can be just about anything, depending on the issues.

I hate to see anybody go into Court alone, particularly when there's an Attorney on the other side.

I appreciate your candor; I had a feeling this would be difficult. However, I'm not giving up hope that there is a lawyer out there who is willing to tackle this case. It will just take time to research fully, something we have little of. Since we are in the same state, is there a chance you would know of a lawyer who might work in my county? For anonymity, I won't post here. Please PM me if you think you might be able to help. Many thanks, again.

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Originally Posted by lunarlight

I appreciate your candor; I had a feeling this would be difficult. However, I'm not giving up hope that there is a lawyer out there who is willing to tackle this case. It will just take time to research fully, something we have little of. Since we are in the same state, is there a chance you would know of a lawyer who might work in my county? For anonymity, I won't post here. Please PM me if you think you might be able to help. Many thanks, again.

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I'd love to recommend some but I work for a lot of them and just can't single one out. A good reference is your County Bar Association. As far as research is concerned, this doesn't seem terribly complicated and I don't know that you need actual case law.

I still think if all else fails - you are focused, you know what the issues are, you aren't over reacting, you are by no means stupid, you just might be all right here.

Courts in NY can and will appoint a legal guardian to review the entire situation, interview the parties. I would ask for that evaluation.

As far as the "my Attorney" stuff - I'm not sure that's not some sort of ploy to try to intimidate you. If she knows info channels/funnels to you, it's entirely possibly she's deliberately planting info to get under your skin.

I have found Family Court to always be user friendly - if you state you don't have an Attorney, you fall in the quicksand area between not being to afford counsel and making too much money for assigned counsel you may very well be surprised at how helpful the Judge is. He/she won't let the other side run over you like a freight train if you don't try to play Attorney. You are there for one purpose, you know what you are about, you know what she is about and you are telling the truth.

As I said - you've got it a lot more together than a lot of people who post and I honestly think you'll be okay.

Again, I thank you for your input. We'll do what we can and I'll be sure to write back with the results. If nothing else, our experience may serve someone in the future. Wish us luck!

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Originally Posted by lunarlight

Again, I thank you for your input. We'll do what we can and I'll be sure to write back with the results. If nothing else, our experience may serve someone in the future. Wish us luck!

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Luck!