Family Law News

Judges Can Order Parents To Attend Classes To Ease Divorce Trauma On Children

NEW YORK—Judges in New York State will have the authority to mandate parents involved in custody or visitation disputes to attend certified parent education programs, following a new court rule issued today. The programs, designed to give parents practical tools to reduce the stress of family break-up on their children and protect them from the negative effects of parental conflict, have been available for several years, but until now, judges have only been able to make referrals, not order participation. As a result, compliance with these program referrals has been lower than optimal.

The new rule, which goes into effect immediately, was adopted by the Administrative Board of the Courts and promulgated by Chief Administrative Judge Jonathan Lippman.

“Under the leadership of Chief Judge Judith Kaye, the benefits of parent education programs have been well established in New York,” said Judge Lippman. “They help reduce parental conflict and ease the trauma of family break-up on youngsters. However, without the authority to mandate participation in these valuable programs, judges are finding that litigants are not complying with their referrals. This new court rule will give teeth to a judge's order, which ultimately serves the best interests of the children and families involved.” Read more at nycourts.gov

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	Did You Know?
	Child custody is an important family issue. Child custody is a term that refers to the bundle of rights and responsibilities that a parent carries with respect to his/her child. Child custody includes numerous concepts, some of which overlap and some that are distinct. Your family lawyer in your state can help you make these distinctions.