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Queens Custody

When you have a case that involves your family, or specifically your children, this case is going to be heard by Family Court. The Queens Family Court is responsible for making legal decisions in family law cases, which include Child Support, Child Custody, Orders of Protection, Visitation, and Abuse and Neglect. Your Queens Child Custody Lawyer will understand that the issue of Child Custody is typically the most difficult and painful to resolve when any couple is going through separation/divorce. To assist you in getting through this kind of situation, a Queens Child Custody Lawyer from Stephen Bilkis & Associates, PLLC prepared the following summary of what you might expect.

First, you will want to know where the Queens Family Court is: You’ll find it at 151-20 Jamaica Avenue, in Jamaica, Queens, NY. There is minimal street parking, with parking meters, as well as a municipal parking garage nearby.

For general Queens Family Court information, call 718-298-0197. Their hours are Monday and Friday from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm, and on Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday from 8:30 am to 8:00 p.m.

The next important thing to understand about your Child Custody case is the basis on which it will be decided. In New York State, including in Queens and other boroughs such as Brooklyn, a Child Custody case will be decided by a determination of what is in the best interests of your child. This frequently appears to be a vague legal standard, but the Family Court Judge does indeed evaluate a range of specific factors in the process of reaching a verdict.

In analyzing what might be in the child’s interests, the Queens Family Court Judge will begin with the question of which parent has been acting as the primary caregiver. For an answer to this question, we take direction from the Queens Family Court which takes a look at which parent has chiefly had responsibility for the child’s daily care. Which parent has attended to the child’s basic needs? Who has been getting the child dressed and ready for school, helping the child with his or her homework, bathing the child, feeding him or her, and getting the child to any doctor’s appointments? This leads to the legal question fo who is the child’s primary caregiver ?

To help determine this, a Queens Family Court Judge may appoint a Law Guardian. The individual in the role of Law Guardian will be a Queens Family Lawyer who will serve to represent a child’s interests. The Law Guardian generally interviews the child as well as the parents, then makes a recommendation as to which parent they believe should be named a Custodial parent.

The Family Court Judge can award various types of custody to a parent, whether full custody, joint custody, or physical custody.

A parent who is given full custody has sole decision-making authority in all aspects of childcare. This includes where your child will live, as well as which school the child is going to attend, and all other decisions that need to be made about a child’s daily welfare. Selecting the child’s doctors and the religion under which to raise the child are some of the other choices that will be solely up to a parent with Full Custody.

Physical Custody or Residential Custody is a basic form of Child Custody. A Queens Child Custody Lawyer can tell you that this type of custody concerns where the primary residence for the child will be. A parent with Physical Custody has the right to make any decisions regarding the child’s daily routine—what they eat, when they go to bed, even when they do their homework.

Joint Custody or Shared Custody is just what its name implies: It is when the two parents share equally in decision-making regarding any major decisions in the life of their child. Even the parent who does not hold residential custody is entitled to equal authority in making any significant childcare decisions.

Because a Child Custody case can involve many other factors—from a child’s wishes to the background of either parent—we encourage you to contact Stephen Bilkis & Associates, PLLC as soon as possible. A free, no-obligation evaluation with a Queens Child Custody Lawyer on our team will help you start negotiating a solution for your family. Whether you are in Queens Family Court or Queens Supreme court in a Custody battle in a Divorce. Dial 800.696.9529 to arrange a meeting with us in our Queens office, or in any of New York City’s other boroughs—Manhattan (New York County), Brooklyn, Staten Island (Richmond County), or the Bronx. Our offices are also on Long Island, in either Nassau County or in Suffolk County, and you can meet us in our Westchester County location, too.

Client Reviews
★★★★★
My ex-husband hadn't paid child support or the mortgage on the house as he was supposed to. Stephen Bilkis and his team of lawyers were amazing. They stopped the foreclosure on the house, Got a judgment against him and most importantly kept me and my children in the house. Can't say enough good things about him in the firm their compassion hard work and dedication were exceptional. I.G.
★★★★★
From the very first phone call to Stephen Bilkis' office, the staff was extremely polite and helpful in assisting me. Mr. Bilkis was honest and upfront with me from the beginning in what he projected the outcome of my case would be; in the end we got better results than either of us anticipated. He was very genuine and compassionate in understanding my situation and how this legal matter could effect not only myself but my family as well. I highly recommend this law firm and will most definitely continue using them for any future legal needs. Jarrett
★★★★★
Stephen has handled numerous estate matters, criminal matters and family court matters effectively and with a goal-oriented approach. He gets great results and is a results-oriented attorney. Dustin