Legal Questions and Answers

Read legal questions and answers from experienced Jewish lawyers and legal professionals.

How to find a Jewish lawyer who speaks Yiddish?

My fiancée and I are Orthodox and speak primarily Yiddish. We need a lawyer to draft a prenuptial agreement for us because my family owns several businesses in and around Crown Heights and they want to keep those businesses in our family should anything happen to my marriage. My fiancée is agreeable. How do I locate a Jewish Orthodox attorney with a good reputation who speaks Yiddish? Does my fiancée also need an attorney also or can we use the same one for purposes of the prenuptial agreement?

New York, NY

Mar 15, 2021

How do I get on the adoption registry in New York?

I am interested in adopting a child and am told that you can make your interest known to the various adoption agencies by registering in one location. I’ve searched online but can’t find one place to register, just individual agencies that require you to sign up with each of them and go through a separate application for each. Is there actually one place I can register with and one application I can complete to put my name on the list for an infant that might be placed with any of these agencies? Also, are there any registries specific to Jewish people? I am Jewish and would be a good match if a Jewish mother is looking to place her baby with someone who will raise the child in the Jewish faith.

New York, NY

Mar 15, 2021

Do I have to use savings and retirement to pay child support?

I’m having trouble paying my regular child support because my work hours were cut due to Covid. I work for a computer company in Chicago and we can’t get supplies in from overseas due to the lockdowns and transportation delays. The income reduction is definitely not my fault or choice. My ex knows that I have a fair amount saved in the bank and in my retirement account. She wants me to pay the regular child support payments with that money. Says if I seek a reduction or stop paying the support she’ll let child support know I have these funds. Am I obligated to pay child support out of my savings and retirement? I thought the support amount was based on your income only.

Chicago, IL

Mar 15, 2021

Can I stop all visits due to child abuse by child’s father?

There is a custody order in place giving my daughter’s father weekend overnight visits with her. She’s 2 years old. Based on some of her behaviors recently and some information I’ve recently gotten about my ex, I fear he may be sexually abusing her. I obviously don’t have direct proof, but what I do have is very concerning. I don’t want to send my daughter back to her father’s for this weekend visitation and I told him I wasn’t going to. He said if she is not at his house at 5:00 p.m. on Friday he is going to sue me for contempt of court and send the police to get my daughter and give her to him. Can I stop the visits for now while child abuse is investigated? Can he sue me for contempt and get the police involved if I have good reason to fear for my daughter’s safety with him?

Chicago, IL

Mar 15, 2021

Acceptable for me to deliver uncontested divorce paper to spouse?

My wife and I are separating and we are on good terms. I filed for an uncontested divorce, which she knows about and agrees with. I have the paperwork that I filed along with the summons that the court clerk told me had to be served on my wife. She said I was not allowed to serve the papers because I’m a party to the case, but it will cost me money to hire a private server. My wife says she will just stop by my apartment and pick up the papers and then go to court to file her response. Is that acceptable or will that somehow hold up the divorce?

Fairfax, VA

Mar 15, 2021

Will a custody order dictate who has to transport the kids?

My ex and I have 3 kids and they are all very gifted, both academically and athletically. They are enrolled in numerous school activities and sports, and we spend most days of the week running back and forth between their various activities and games. Also, I live in Fairax but my ex lives in Richmond, and only sees the kids on the weekends. He does, however, attend most of their events. Can he be required by court order to assist in transporting the kids to some of their activities, since he’s coming to Fairfax and attending them anyway? I can barely keep up getting all 3 to all of these events and it isn’t fair that I have to by myself. I’ve asked him to help out but he refuses.

Fairfax, VA

Mar 15, 2021

What is the fastest I can get an uncontested divorce in Los Angeles?

3 years into our marriage it’s clear that it isn’t going to work. I’m from Israel and my wife is from the US and our cultural and religious differences are just too great. My family is still in Israel and my father is very ill. I want to get back there as soon as possible and take care of him. Other than a car we bought together, my wife and I don’t have anything of value and I’m willing to just sign the car over to her. How quickly can I get divorced so that I can go back home to Israel and not have to come back to the U.S. for any divorce proceedings?

Los Angeles, CA

Mar 15, 2021

Is a prenuptial agreement valid if husband lied about his income?

Before our marriage, my husband wanted a prenup and I agreed because we both had kids from prior marriages and wanted to keep our property separate for them if we divorced. In the prenup, I gave up all alimony because at the time, we earned about the same income, and I’ve always been able to support myself even though it’s sometimes been a struggle. After 17 years of marriage, we began having marital issues and divorce is a possibility. I recently learned that all during our marriage, and even before, my husband has been receiving substantial income from trust account left for him by his deceased grandfather. I knew nothing about it when I signed the prenup. It now doesn’t seem fair that if we divorce, he will have alot more to live on than me even though I gave up furthering my career to raise our joint kids. If he lied about his income at the time I signed the prenup, can it be declared invalid?

Los Angeles, CA

Mar 15, 2021

In a divorce, can a US judge control property in Jordan?

I am helping a friend who is a Jewish immigrant from Jordan. He wants to divorce his wife due to her infidelity. He is concerned whether she will have any interest in property his family still owns in Jordan, because his name is also on that property and it was bought after he and the wife married. It’s very important to he and his family that they maintain that property without interference from wife, who has threatened to force the sale of it if my friend divorces her. Can a Jewish lawyer help him with this situation, and can a US judge even have authority over land located in Jordan?

Miami, FL

Mar 15, 2021

What can I do about a false claim of child abuse?

Someone filed a false claim of child abuse against me. I proved my innocence in court and I now want to sue them for slandering me and hurting my reputation. I would also like to sue the Miami Department of Children and Families for pursuing the false claims and involving my family, friends and some co-workers. These allegations and investigation affected my standing at my job. Also, will the claims still show up on my record even though they were lies, and the Judge agreed with me?

Miami, FL

Mar 15, 2021

What if I want to adopt my baby out but don’t know who father is?

I was seeing several different guys around the time I got pregnant. I was using and wasn’t careful or taking care of myself. When I found out I was pregnant, I stopped all drugs and got some help, I did not want to hurt my baby. I’m getting my life together but I’m not ready to be a mom at this point. I want to let another good family adopt and raise my baby. When I talked to an adoption agency in Las Vegas where I live they said I needed to be able to identify the father so they could get his consent to the adoption. I honestly don’t know who the father is or even how to locate some of the guys I was involved with to test them for paternity. What if the father can’t be identified, can an adoption still go through?

Las Vegas, NV

Mar 15, 2021

Changing custody if my kids are in danger from the stepdad?

My children’s mother remarried about 2 years ago and since that time, the situation between my kids and her new husband has gotten worse. He drinks a lot and is becoming more and more abusive toward them. It started with just emotional abuse – yelling and screaming at them – but he recently slapped my older son in the face and has pushed my younger son several times. The boys want out of that house and I’m worried they aren’t safe anymore. Is their stepfather’s abuse enough to prove full custody of my kids should be given to me? If it is, can I get child support from their mother? She doesn’t work but the stepfather does and earns a lot of money. I can take care of my boys but financially it would be difficult on me because I would need to hire someone to watch them after school until I get off work.

Las Vegas, NV

Mar 15, 2021

Can we throw out a prenup once we have children?

My fiancée and I are to be married in 3 months and I think I need a prenup. I have a lot more assets than she does and I earn a lot more. I’ve made it clear to her that one of the primary reasons I’m willing to get married is because I want a son to carry on my family name. If we have a son, I’m willing to forget the prenup and share whatever I have with her if the marriage doesn’t work out, because I would want her, as my son’s mother, to be taken care of. Can we include something in the prenup that states that it is only valid until she gives birth to a boy and if she does, the prenup goes away at that point? Can I draft this type of agreement myself or must a lawyer do it?

Houston, TX

Mar 15, 2021

What do I need to do to get custody of my grandkids?

My grandkids are in foster care in a non jewish home. We are orthodox. Traditions are not being followed. I am their grandmother and need to get custody of them. I’ve approached child services who has guardianship of them and asked for custody but they say the kids are better where they are and if I want to pursue custody, I need a lawyer. How do I find a Jewish lawyer who is familiar with the local foster care agency? I have no criminal record and own my own house here in Houston. The kids could live here with me and see their real mom and dad under my supervision, if child services is worried about their safety.

Houston, TX

Mar 15, 2021

What if my husband won’t give me an uncontested divorce?

I want to divorce my husband, he’s been physically and emotionally abusive to me for years. Our children are grown and there is nothing financially to fight over. I don’t want anything from him and my family will help support me and get me back on my feet once this marriage is over. However, my husband says he will never agree to a divorce. Under Jewish law, only he can give me the get and if he doesn’t, I have to stay married to him. Can a Jewish lawyer do something to require him to agree to an uncontested divorce, and if still won’t, how do I get out of this marriage? I fear for my safety from him at this point.

Philadelphia, PA

Mar 15, 2021

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