Medical Marijuana in New York In July 2014, New York’s Compassionate Care Act (“CCA”) was signed into law. The CCA took effect in January 2016 and made medicinal marijuana use legal in New York. New York is now one of 29 states where medical marijuana use is legal under state law, along with the District of Columbia. The CCA is more restrictive than many state medical marijuana laws. When it was passed, the CCA only allowed for patients suffering from a few serious conditions, such as cancer, Parkinson’s disease, and ALS, to be certified for medicinal marijuana use. The list…
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Issues to be Determined in a Divorce
A divorce can be tough on all parties involved, including children. Divorce impacts all aspects of the family unit and can be emotionally and financially taxing on the parties. All economic issues, support issues and child custody issues are settled or determined by a court. The manner in which couples choose to settle these issues will determine the cost and emotional toll the process will take on the family as a whole. The Process Spouses have a number of options as to how to proceed in obtaining a divorce and resolving the issues unique to their family situation. Not all…
Duty of NY Employers to Provide the Disabled Reasonable Accommodations Under the Americans with Disabilities Act
Most employers know that they must provide reasonable accommodations to disabled employees upon request; however there are certain situations where employers have to be proactive and ask employees if an accommodation is necessary to ensure compliance with state and federal laws. When No Request for Accommodations is Made The Second Circuit Court of Appeals (covering New York, Connecticut, and Vermont) recently ruled that the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations if they should have known an employee was disabled. In Brady vs. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., an employee with cerebral palsy never requested accommodations, but witnesses…
Social Media, Smartphones and Divorce: Don’t Give Your Ex Ammunition
With smartphones and social media being so prevalent in society today the temptation to post sexy pics or type inappropriate comments is always looming. Particularly, if you’re considering divorce proceedings or custody action or are in the midst of it. It’s extremely important to think before you post on social media, tweet, text, leave a voicemail or send an email. You might be angry at your ex or want to make them jealous and anger and jealousy are known to get the best of people. Fight those feelings and refrain from typing, sending, or posting anything inappropriate. Ask yourself, if…
Construction Law | How to Get Paid: What Are Your Legal Rights?
Do I need a Construction Law Attorney? How do I prove I honored the contract? How to write an effective contract? Too often, contractors find themselves struggling to collect payment even after spending thousands of dollars to complete a project. The reason may be a dispute over the work, the timing of the work or payment or countless other excuses from the client. In almost every situation, a stronger contract would have protected the contractor and gotten them paid sooner. Protecting Contract Rights To write an effective contract and make sure it actually protects you, you need to keep five…
New York’s Changing Wiretap Law: Can a Parent Consent on Behalf of a Child?
I. Where a parent has a good faith, objectively reasonable basis to believe that it was necessary for the welfare of her infant child to record a conversation between the child and another person without the other person' consent, the parent can consent to the recording on the infant child's behalf and admission of the recording is not precluded by CPLR § 4506. Penal Law § 250.05 states that "[a] person is guilty of eavesdropping when he unlawfully engages in wiretapping, mechanical overhearing of a conversation, or intercepting or accessing of an electronic communication." Penal Law § 250.00(1) defines "Wiretapping"…
Grandparent & Non-Parent Rights to Child Custody and Visitation
In all of this troublesome and troubled area[,] there is a fundamental principle. Neither law, nor policy, nor the tenets of our society would allow a child to be separated by officials of the State from its parent unless the circumstances are compelling. Neither the lawyers nor Judges in the judicial system nor the experts in psychology or social welfare may displace the primary responsibility of child-raising that naturally and legally falls to those who conceive and bear children. Again, this is not so much because it is their right, but because it is their responsibility. Bennett v. Jeffreys, 356…
What is Legal Custody? Physical Custody? Can a Parent be Denied Visitation?
VIDEO: Difference Between Physical and Legal Custody in NY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3eY2UVn0Os&feature=youtu.be I. WHAT IS LEGAL CUSTODY? Legal custody is the ability to make decisions for a child, including medical, educational, and religious decisions. Joint legal custody is where both parents are granted legal custody of the child and expected to work cooperatively to make decisions for the child. Sole legal custody is where only one parent retains legal custody of the child. II. WHAT IS PHYSICAL CUSTODY? Physical custody refers to which parent the child primarily lives with. The parent who the child resides with…
What are the grounds for divorce? What is “No Fault Divorce”?
In order to obtain a divorce, the party seeking the divorce must establish "grounds" for the divorce. In other words, each state determines what reasons they believe justify a divorce and, to receive a divorce, one of those reasons must be proved. New York has seven different grounds for divorce: The parties were married in New York, and either party is a resident of New York when the action is commenced and has been such a resident for a continuous period of one year immediately prior to commencement proceeding, or Cruel and inhuman treatment of the plaintiff by the defendant…
Can I Bring a Divorce Action in New York? What is Residency?
Depending on which side of the litigation a spouse is on, New York's laws can be much more generous than the laws of other states. In order to prevent people from moving from state to state for the sole purpose of picking a state with laws more favorable to them, i.e., "forum shopping," New York requires that a plaintiff establish a sufficient connection to the State of New York in order to commence a matrimonial proceeding in New York. Proving this connection to New York is commonly referred as establishing "residency." Residency can be met by proving that: The parties…
