Law Offices of Anatta Levinsky, P.C.

What is a Paternity case? A Paternity case is a Family Court case that names a child's legal father if the child's parents were not married to each other when the child was born.

What if I am not the father? If you were married to the mother when the child was born, the law assumes that you are the father. If you were married to the mother and believe that you are NOT the father, tell the support magistrate right away. This is called contesting paternity. The court must determine paternity (find out who is the father) before it can order child support. To determine paternity, the court may order a DNA test. If the test shows you are the father, the court will issue an Order of Filiation (fil-ee-AY-shun). This is a legal document from the court saying who the father of a child is.

What if I miss my court date? If you miss a court date, a support magistrate can issue a default judgment (de-FALT JUDG-ment). A default judgment is an order that is made when someone does not show up for court. In child support cases, the default judgment is an order for child support against the non-custodial parent. The order is based on the information the custodial parent gave to the court. If you want to cancel the order, you must file a motion to vacate a default judgment. This is a written request asking the court to cancel the order. You must give the court a good reason for not showing up.

When does child support end? In New York State, a child can receive child support until the age of 21. Sometimes the child support can be ended earlier. Some examples of when it can end earlier are if the child joins the military or gets married

Divorce Trial Ended Before It Started Today: Wife and Stepdaughter Shot; Police Questioning Husband Two New York lawyers who were waiting for their respective clients at a Queens courthouse apparently never started their scheduled divorce trial today, after word reached them that police said the estranged husband had shot his wife and his adult stepdaughter this morning at their Astoria home. I was in shock, attorney Helene Sherman, who represented the 57-year-old wife, tol...d the New York Daily News. "The guy was a difficult guy, but I never thought this would happen. She said the husband, who reportedly is 52, had paced court hallways during earlier hearings and been difficult even for his own lawyer to deal with. And a number of neighbors told the newspaper that the husband had stalked and abused his wife. He also verbally abused both women on a blog, the Post reports. "He told my 86-year-old mother in the supermarket that he was going to kill them," an unidentified neighbor told the newspaper. "He was stalking her for years. He said he was going to kill his own [sic] daughter. He blamed her for the divorce." The wife had taken out a number of protective orders; the most recent expired more than six months ago. A former next-door neighbor of the family told the New York Post that his own wife had wanted to move, in part, because she feared the husband. The husband is being questioned by police, the Post reported this afternoon, but has not been charged. The two women reportedly are in critical condition.