If a Nassau County judge has his way, people who are in arrears on their spousal maintenance payments will face much tougher sanctions.

In the high-conflict divorce, try as it may, a court has little to offer minor children caught in Mom and Dad's crossfire. Regrettably, in many, if not most, instances, the more resources directed toward high conflict divorces, the more opportunity for escalating the conflict, unintended though it may be. One of the reasons for this entrenching of positions seems to be the identification of a specific role with its concomitant stance for everyone involved.

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<b><i>ASFA Can Be Retroactive, Says Judge</i></b> In a decision issued July 2 in a case of first impression, Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye of the Court of Appeals interpreted the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA), enacted in February 1999, to find that it can be applied retroactively to expedite the placement of severely abused children and their siblings.

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<b><i>Part One of a Two-Part Article.</i></b> Forensic psychological assessments are often pivotal documents that can have a dramatic effect on the trajectory of a contested custody dispute and, ultimately, on the path a particular child's life will take post disposition. Forensic reports arrive in court as documents that represent the application of a behavioral "science" and there is therefore a common expectation that the recommendations will be weighted heavily because they will go beyond common public knowledge or subjective value choices.

Rulings of importance to your practice.

Rulings of importance to your practice.

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Rulings of importance to your practice.

Rulings of importance to your practice.