A divorce, child custody case or other family law case does not always have to be a combative experience. Even when the issues are complex, your future is at stake and emotions are running high, I will work hard to protect your legal rights while avoiding unnecessary conflict and heartache.

As an experienced New York Family Law Attorney, I am dedicated to all matters of matrimonial, divorce and family law. I am known for successfully assisting families in transition, and for representing individuals with both straightforward and complex issues related to divorce. My practice, based in Hauppauge, extends to the trial courts of Suffolk County and Nassau County, New York.

As a skilled New York Family Law Attorney, I specialize in all areas of matrimonial and family law ranging from complex divorce issues to adoptions, including:

• Child custody, parenting time, child support, child support modification and child support enforcement
• Alimony, alimony modification, and alimony enforcement
• Equitable distribution of marital assets
• Domestic violence proceedings, temporary and final restraining orders, domestic violence defense proceedings
• Paternity issues and termination of parental rights proceedings
• Separation agreements, prenuptial agreements and cohabitation agreements
• Domestic partnerships
• Adoptions including step-parent adoptions, same sex adoptions and international adoptions

Protecting Your Rights in Custody Cases:
No area of family law brings to the courtroom the tension, anxiety and raw emotion as child custody and visitation litigation. Many factors influence an award of custody, and the way a case is presented in court can have a large impact on the result for you and your children.

You will always receive the benefits of our best efforts. As a skilled New York Family Law Attorney, I provide excellent, conscientious service to parents with child custody, child support and family-related issues throughout Long Island and the New York area. Special attention is given to interstate custody and child support cases where the other parent lives in another state.

The Importance of Child Support:
Child support is the money paid by one parent to another to cover a portion of the costs of food, clothing, and shelter for the children. The amount of child support is generally set at a pre-determined amount based upon the incomes of the parents. Sometimes parents can be obligated to pay additional expenses for the children in addition to normal child support such as day care, counseling expenses, and school tuition.

The amount of a child support award is more than a question of bare necessities. If the child has a wealthy parent, that child is entitled to, and therefore needs something more than the bare necessities of life. Where the supporting parent enjoys a lifestyle that far exceeds the custodial parent's living standard, child support must to some degree reflect that more opulent lifestyle. This is so even though, as a practical matter, the child support payments may incidentally benefit others in the custodial household whom the payor parent has no obligation to support (e.g., custodial parent owed no spousal support, adult children, or children from custodial parent's other relationships). Children are entitled to share in the non-custodial parent’s elevated standard of living despite the custodial parent's lower income.

If you or someone you know in Long Island is involved in a divorce or child custody dispute and needs the assistance of an experienced New York Family Law Attorney, call Curtis Exum today at 866-614-3164, or complete the contact form provided on this site to schedule your free consultation.