RI Divorce, Child Custody & Family Law Center

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David Slepkow

Rhode Island Prenuptial Agreement Lawyer | RI Premarital Agreement Attorney

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Rhode Island Prenuptial Agreement Attorney, David Slepkow  401-213-8073 has extensive experience drafting and litigating Prenuptial Agreements. Please read his in depth articles concerning RI Premarital Agreement Law.

  • Enforceability of Premarital Agreements in a RI Divorce! on April 25th, 2010
  • Key Components of Prenuptial Agreements! Important Provisions in Well Drafted Premarital Agreements on April 25th, 2010
  • Unconscionable Prenuptials Enforced in RI Unless Involuntary & No Disclosure on July 7th, 2011
  • Rhode Island Prenuptial Agreement Lawyer | RI Premarital Agreement Attorney on July 7th, 2011
  • RI Divorce Attorney Rated Preeminent 5 out of 5 by Martindale-Hubbell on March 26th, 2011
  • Top Rhode Island Divorce Lawyer, David Slepkow on February 26th, 2011

Rhode Island Attorneys legal Notice per RI Rules of Professional Responsibility:

The Rhode Island Supreme Court licenses all lawyers in the general practice of law, but does not license or certify any lawyer/ attorney as an expert or specialist in any field of practice.

RI Divorce Law Tip- 20 day Appeal Period from Decision Pending

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The Final Judgment of Divorce in Rhode Island cannot be appealed to the Rhode Island Supreme Court. The appeal period does not start when a Justice of the Rhode Island Family Court issues a divorce Decision. The appeal period begins when the decision pending entry of final judgment enters. There is a 20 day appeal period from the entry of  Decision Pending Entry of Final Judgment.

Rhode Island Divorce Lawyer Wins Supreme Court Appeal Vacating Family Court Decision on May 7th, 2011

RI Custody TIP: Do not Coach your child!

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Coaching your child in family court almost always backfires. Children cannot keep a secret. The Family Court Justice or Guardian ad litem will ask the child what you told the minor child about the Rhode Island custody case. Please contact Rhode Island Child Custody David Slepkow 401-213-8073.

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A child may ask you incessantly about his or her interview with the judge. All you should say is that everything will be okay and that the child should “tell the truth.” When the Judge asks your child what you told him before the interview, it will be very beneficial to your case if the child repeats back the mantra “My mom told me to tell the truth.”

Your child is not your friend or your confidante regarding the divorce or custody case. Coaching children can be emotionally harmful and confusing to your children. It is unfair to your child to put him in that position. You also don’t want the other parent to coach the child, so you should not coach the child either.

Child Custody Law – The Role of the Guardian Ad Litem For the Minor Child in Family Court
[Relationships: Post-Divorce] This article written by a Rhode Island Child Custody explains the role of the Guardian ad Litem in Rhode Island Custody, Visitation and placement cases. In Rhode Island (RI), A guardian ad litem is a individual who represents the hypothetical best interest of the minor child in a child custody, visitation or other type of Family Court case. The Guardian is not a lawyer for the minor child!

“Approximately half (48.7 percent) of all 13.4 million custodial parents had a court order or some type of agreement to receive financial support from the noncustodial parent(s) in 2014 (Table 2). The majority of the 6.5 million parents with agreements were reported by the custodial parent as formal legal agreements—established by a court or other government entity—(89.8 percent), while 10.2 percent were informal agreements or understandings.16 The proportion of custodial mothers who had child support agreements or awards in 1994 was 59.8 percent, and increased to 64.2 percent in 2004.17 Since that time, the percentage has declined to 53.1 percent. The percentage of custodial fathers with child support agreements or awards was 31.4 percent in 2014. Historically, the proportion of custodial fathers with awards has been considerably lower than that of custodial mothers.”  Custodial Mothers and Fathers and Their Child Support: 2013 By Timothy Grall Current Population Reports Issued  https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2016/demo/P60-255.pdf 

What does “Alimony Left Open” mean in a Divorce in RI?

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When Alimony is left open in a Rhode Island Divorce, the Family Court does not make a specific award of Alimony at that time. In the future, the spouse may return to Court and seek Alimony based on the Parties situation at that time.

Open Ended Alimony was validated by The Rhode Island Supreme Court in Calitri v Calitri347 A.2nd 631 (1975).

However, in Thompson v. Thampson the  Rhode Island Supreme Court alluded to the concept of a “window of opportunity” to obtain alimony. The Thompson Court stated:

“[A]limony is a rehabilitative tool intended to provide temporary support until a spouse is self-sufficient, and is based purely on need.”  Giammarco v. Giammarco, 959 A.2d 531, 535 (R.I.2008) (quoting Berard v. Berard, 749 A.2d 577, 581 (R.I.2000)).   It is prospective, not retroactive, in nature and is designed to provide support for a party until he or she can become self-sufficient.   We are of the opinion that the window of opportunity for an award of prospective alimony is closed and there shall be no alimony in this case.”

Resources by Attorney David Slepkow 401-213-8073:
Legal Notice per Rules of Professional Responsibility: The Rhode Island Supreme Court licenses all lawyers and attorneys in the general practice of law, but does not license or certify any lawyer / attorney as an expert or specialist in any field of practice.