Legal Question in Family Law in New York
guardianship of my minor children
I am 45 years old female and have been divorced for a year and separated for 6. I have not seen or heard from my ex in 4 years, he has not had any contact with our four children in 5 years (17,15,9,5 ). My divorce was granted based on default and am currently owed $44,000 in back child support ( I did not ask for alimony in the divorce, we were married 19 years)
How would I go about appointing a legal non family member guardian for my minor children in the event of my death in the state of New York?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: guardianship of my minor children
The first part of my answer is going to be hard to take. In the event of your death, unless your ex-husband was ruled an unfit parent, he will have absolute right to custody of his children and only a finding of being unfit or inappropriate to be the parent will that change.
Second, you can put in your last will and testament your desire to have another person named guardian and your reasons for this action. Although this is not binding on the court which has final say as to custody, it will be pursuasive on the court.
As for child support, you should bring an action in family court as soon as possible to enforce your child support to get a judgement against him. If you were to collect your child support through a government agency you need to get in touch with that agency, usually called the support collection unit or child support enforcement bureau and have them bring an action.
If you would like a free consultation you can contact my office at 516.746.4747 or [email protected]. I handle cases in Riverhead and Central Islip on a regular basis.
Joel R. Salinger, Esq.
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