Custody orders are often seen as more permanent solutions to child custody issues, while guardianship can last a lifetime, but also has the option to be temporary. Whether you`re looking for custody or guardianship of a child, it`s important to make sure you get the right support. An experienced family law lawyer like Darren M. Shapiro can discuss your situation with you and suggest the right strategy for your needs. Robert G. Venturo`s law firm is committed to protecting the rights and interests of children. In New York, the special role of the legal guardian allows children to have their own legal representation. Our founding lawyer, Robert G. Venturo, was a law enforcement officer for 20 years. In 2002, he was named Goalkeeper of the Year by the Suffolk County Bar Association. More recently, law enforcement officers are now referred to as “child advocates.” His experience is invaluable when it comes to helping clients find a lawyer to serve as a guardian. A legal guardian is subject to the same conflict of laws rules as any other attorney in any other representation.

He or she must disclose any actual or potential conflict. He cannot then represent the child without the consent of all parties. In summary, the representation of a legal guardian would be significantly improved and more independent if the rules were followed more closely. If a law enforcement officer feels that he answers to a judge more than any other lawyer in this case, he is obviously not really interested in representing children. However, not all children need a legal guardian. Most often, they need a psychiatrist to help them cope better, transition life and express their feelings, without real or perceived effects. Perhaps the use of closed interviews early in a case with intermittent follow-ups would better give the judge a true picture of the dynamics between families, in order to better protect the best interests of the children. Law enforcement is a creation of the Statute. FCA 241 clearly states that “this law states that minors who are the subject of proceedings in family court proceedings or appeals in family court proceedings must be represented by a lawyer of their choice or by legal guardians”.

This means that a child can keep any lawyer of his or her choice without that lawyer having to sit on the guardianship council. Of course, the court can also appoint a legal guardian. A parent can refer their child to a lawyer, but cannot keep the lawyer or the child, or be involved in representing the child. Anyone, including a parent, can foot the bill for the child. A guardian is the child`s lawyer and must play an active role in the proceedings. The role of the legal guardian is to represent his client in court, as any other lawyer would do for any other client. A law enforcement officer is just a lawyer who is equal to other lawyers and is bound by the same rules. Therefore, a guardian cannot communicate with a party represented by a lawyer without the presence of the lawyer and without the permission of that party`s lawyer. In this role of the child`s lawyer, as opposed to the role of counsel for one of the parties, the legal guardian has a dual role. It must both represent the wishes of the child and work in the best interests of the child. “Because the outcome desired by the child and the outcome that is in the best interests of the child may differ, law enforcement officers sometimes face conflict in this type of advocacy. In resolving this conflict, it is worth noting that the child`s preference is only one factor that the trial court will consider.

It is important to note that under New York`s family laws and the policies that attorney Darren Shapiro deals with every day, custody and guardianship of a child are two interdependent but distinct concepts. The intersection of the two ideas can be complicated and often difficult to understand. As attorney Shapiro tells his clients, parents of a child receive custody of their children in most cases. These include physical custody, which dictates where the child will live, and legal custody, which describes the right to make important decisions about the child`s life. However, in some cases, a child`s parents are not available or unable to care for their children, and in this case, other caregivers must be put in place. In this case, custody generally applies to a non-parent. A guardian is only the legal guardian of a child during the procedure. After a final order is rejected or issued, representation ends, as does the court`s power to appoint a legal guardian. The only two exceptions are if one of the parties files a complaint or if there is negligence or abuse.

So why do guardians continue to have contact with the child and/or one or both parents in cases where there has been no abuse or neglect and no notice of appeal has been filed? Some of these enforcement officers even continue to charge the panel or litigants. Would this not be a good fraudulent or a bill justifying the suspension of the practice of law? Beware of law enforcement! While a parent does not have the right to sue a legal guardian for misconduct, a parent can still invoke the legal guardian`s error as a defense against payment of the guardian`s fees. It is amazing how many lawyers can easily predict how a law enforcement officer will intervene in a particular case despite the facts of the case. However, a law enforcement officer should not have an assessment before gathering evidence. Depending on the circumstances, guardianship may be established for a specific purpose or temporarily. For example, if a parent is not feeling well and is unable to care for a child during treatment, they may ask to temporarily appoint a guardian until they recover. In this situation, guardianship does not begin until the parent applies for it, and guardianship lasts only as long as necessary, depending on the case. In addition, it should be noted that once guardianship has been established, the parents of a child may remain the legal parents of that child and apply to the court to become the child`s legal guardian again.

However, to change the guard, it must be proven that there has been a substantial change in circumstances. Guardians of the law are a very misunderstood breed, especially by law enforcement officers themselves and sometimes even judges, not to mention other lawyers and litigants. Too many believe that the role of a law enforcement officer is clearly defined, but everyone seems to behave according to their own wishes. Some claim that he or she chooses who gets custody of the children and what visits the other parent receives. Some judges believe that the law enforcement officer is their investigator and investigator on whom a decision is suspended. Both are false. A legal guardian is no more and no less than a court-appointed lawyer for the child; is treated in the same manner as all other lawyers appearing in the case; are subject to the same rules of conduct and ethics; and must actively represent his client, the child. If a custody case is brought before the courts, a guardian may be appointed to represent the child concerned. The custody issue may be: a family court judge approves the application and the Appeal Division confirms the appointment.

Robert G. Venturo was appointed legal guardian in 1998 and has regularly heard custody cases in the New York Supreme Court and New York Family Court. He has succeeded in giving hundreds of New York children a legal voice. As mentioned above, guardians in New York have the same rights as a custodial parent of a child. However, obtaining custody of a child for a non-parent when there is no agreement that allows it can be very difficult. New York courts will require the non-parent to ask them for evidence of extraordinary circumstances indicating that a change of custody is necessary. For example, the non-parent may have to prove with the help of a family lawyer such as Darren Shapiro that issues such as neglect, domestic violence or abuse are part of the situation in question. If a party can prove that these extraordinary circumstances exist, he or she must also prove that a change of custody would be in the best interests of the child. Too often, law enforcement believes they determine who gets custody, and too often, judges rely too much on legal guardians. If a custody decision is based on the legal guardian`s report or recommendation, it is a miscarriage of justice, since the guardian is only one of the lawyers in the case, the child`s lawyer.