RI Domestic Relations & Family Court

You have a right to refuse a drug test in Court

October 28, 2010 By David Slepkow

You have a right to refuse a drug test in Rhode Island Family Court. The Family Court has a drug testing facility on the 3rd floor of Providence Family Court. “The Family Service Unit is also charged with administering alcohol and drug screens for the various court calendars.” Website The Rhode Island Family Court is a civil court and a RI Family Court Judge cannot force you to take a drug test.

Drug Testing in RI Family Court

However, if you refuse the test, be prepared to suffer implications as a result of your refusal. A refused drug test or a no show to a proposed drug test is considered a positive drug test in RI Family Court.

The penalties for a refusal or a no show could include supervision of your visitation, loss of physical or legal custody of your child, suspension of visitation rights or other negative implications.

Drug testing in Providence Family Court

The Judge could order you to attend drug or alcohol counseling in order to reinstate your visitation rights. Remember that marijuana use is considered as bad as other drugs by some judges and could lead to an order of supervised visitation, loss of visitation rights or an order of supervised visits. Some judges are not concerned with marijuana because it has been legalized in so many states. The Rhode Island Family Court also offers five-day alcohol screens as well as random drug and alcohol testing.

Supervised Visitation in Providence Family Court

In RI Family Court, the Courts award “supervised” visits in certain unfortunate situations. Supervised visits are sometimes ordered by a Providence Family Court Judge when there is some concern over the non-custodial parents parenting abilities, domestic abuse, alcohol abuse, the parent has a drug problem or there is a lack of parent child bond or for other reasons. These supervised visits http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supervised_visitation are either for one hour at the Providence Family Court or Supervised by a third party outside of Court or by DCYF.

“Although parental substance abuse is the single most common predictor of children’s out-of-home placement (Chaffin, Kelleher, & Hollenberg, 1996; Department of Health and Human Services [DHHS], 1999; Marcenko, Kemp, & Larson, 2000), children’s out-of-home placement is not simply a function of substance abuse alone but rather a function of complex interactions of risk factors at many levels (Hans, Bernstein, & Henson, 1999; Suchman & Luthar, 2000). At the family/social level, for example, children’s out-of-home placement is more frequent among substance-abusing women with histories of childhood abuse and neglect, exposure to negative events, and experiences of domestic violence (DHHS, 1999; Marcenko et al., 2000; Nair et al., 1997). Demographic factors such as poor education, teen pregnancy, single parenthood, and chronic unemployment also place substance-abusing women at greater risk for losing child custody (DHHS, 1999; Nair et al., 1997). Maternal psychosocial risk, including substance abuse severity and comorbid psychopathology, also predicts higher rates of children’s out-of-home placement among substance-abusing women (DHHS, 1999; Nair et al., 1997).” Substance-abusing mothers and disruptions in child custody: An attachment perspective Nancy E. Suchman, Ph.D.,^a,^* Thomas J. McMahon, Ph.D.,^a,^c Heping Zhang, Ph.D.,^b Linda C. Mayes, M.D.,^c andSuniya Luthar, Ph.D.^d

Can I deny visitation for failure to pay support?

October 25, 2010 By David Slepkow

NO. You cannot deny, limit or cancel visitation or parenting time in Rhode Island as a result of failure to pay child support. If you are in need of child support assistance in RI, contact a child support attorney.

Failure to pay child support is not an excuse to cancel or deny a parent visitation in Rhode Island

deny-visits-support — If a father doesn’t pay child support does he have rights?

Nonpayment of child support or contempt for failure to pay child support is not a justification to deny your ex-girlfriend / ex-boyfriend or ex-husband / ex-wife a visit with your child.

denied visitation no court order

It makes no difference whether you share joint custody or whether you have sole custody of your child. All Rhode Island Family Court Judges and Magistrates believe that it is not appropriate to punish a child by denying visitation merely because a person is not supporting the child. If a person is behind on child support or has failed to pay child support for the child then he or she must file a contempt motion in RI Family Court. If the other non-custodial parent is always late in payment, is thousands of dollars in arrears or never pays child support, that is still not justification to refuse visitation with the minor children.

consequences for denying visitation
when can a child refuse visitation with non-custodial parent?
reasons to withhold visitation
if a father doesn’t pay child support does he have rights

Contempt for denial of visitation | cancel visitation

If you deny visits because your ex is a “deadbeat” or is in noncompliance with a child support order then you could be held in contempt for failure to comply with a visitation order. If you are repeatedly found in contempt of a child visitation order in Rhode Island then you could lose custody / placement of your children.

Child support lawyers in RI

If you are unhappy with the visitation order or want to modify visitation then you must file a motion to modify visitation. It is not appropriate to use failure to pay child support as a justification to unilaterally impose a different visitation schedule then the court order. If you are unable to pay your child support and there has been a substantial change in circumstances then you must file a Motion to Modify Child Support or a Motion to suspend your child support rather than unilaterally stop paying child support

Legal Notice per RI 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.

Overnight visitors of the opposite sex when children are home

October 23, 2010 By David Slepkow

Overnight -visitors-kids — Romantic visitors when children home

Will a judge of the Rhode Island Family Court allow overnight, romantic visitors of the opposite sex when children are home? This family law post is authored by a Rhode Island Family Court attorney.

No shacking up until divorce is final!

Here are bright line rules in this confusing minefield:

When the Rhode Island divorce is pending and final judgment of divorce has not entered, almost all RI Family Court Judges will restrain overnight visitors of the opposite sex when the children are home.
After final judgment, romantic visitors are allowed unless it can be proven the paramour is detrimental to the best interest of the child.
In a custody case when the parties were never married, overnight visitors are allowed unless the boyfriend or girlfriend is dangerous to be around the minor child.

Introductions to boyfriend or girlfriend during divorce

In addition, most judges will restrain an introduction to a new boyfriend / girlfriend while the divorce is pending. Rhode Island Family Court Judges take the position that it is not in the best interest of the children for a person to introduce a child to a romantic partner when a divorce is pending. All the standard excuses will not work in Rhode Island Family Court. The Judges have heard it a million times before.

After Divorce in Rhode Island can a person have an unrelated overnight visitor of the opposite sex when the children are home?

Providence Family Court judges and Magistrates are not opposed to overnights after divorce or when the parents were never married unless it can be proved that it is not in the best interest of the child to allow such visitors. If the new boyfriend or girlfriend is an alcoholic, drug dealer, drug user or has a serious criminal record etc., that may constitute grounds for a judge to limit overnights after a divorce.

Must be evidence of parental unfitness of boyfriend or girlfriend to restrain overnights

If the Boyfriend or Girlfriend has a drug or alcohol problem or a serious criminal history then the judge may restrain the person from overnights when the children are home. There could be a Myriad of other reason that could cause a judge to issue a restraining order such as domestic abuse / violence history, child abuse and conflicts between the child /children and the boyfriend and girlfriend. The judge has to look at the best interest of the child in making this determination.

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.

The 10 Commandments of divorce & child custody

October 20, 2010 By David Slepkow

A divorce lawyer sets forth the ten commandments of divorce and Child custody. All litigants immersed in a divorce or child custody battle should read this family law post very carefully. These commandments (tips) have been adopted by RI divorce lawyer, David Slepkow, during 22 years of Court experience.

1.) Perception is reality

ten-commandments-divorce — Ten commandments of divorce

Both sides often have diametrically opposite version of the facts. The judge will never really know what happened. It is of utmost importance how the judge perceives you and your credibility. Credibility is absolutely crucial in RI Family Court.

2.) Retain a Rhode Island divorce Lawyer!

Hire a top RI child custody attorney or a Providence divorce lawyer to fight for your rights. You don’t know your way around Family Court. Often, everything is at stake. You need a Rhode Island lawyer to guide you through the complicated and complex minefield of Rhode Island Family Court. You would not perform your own surgery. You should not represent yourself in a divorce, child custody, adoption, dcyf matter, child visitation, paternity or Rhode Island child support matter

3.) Do not use illegal drugs or abuse alcohol

You may be required to submit to a drug test on a moment notice. Marijuana is included. Despite the fact that marijuana is basically legal in Rhode Island, you can potentially lose some custodial rights over your children as a result of weed. You can lose custody or visitation rights for your children by abusing illegal drugs.

4.) Do not make faces or be rude to the judge. Make your arguments but do not be argumentative.

Judges do not like overly aggressive and rude litigants. Do not interrupt the judge when the judge is speaking.

5.) Try not to explain your positions in black and white terms.

Years ago, I had a client in a custody case who told me that her boyfriend, whom she lived with for many years, never played with the minor child. She also informed me that he never changed the babies’ diaper and never did anything with the child. She lost credibility with me. If she had informed me that he occasionally played with the child, I would have felt she was more credible. The world is not about black and white, good and evil. Most everything in Rhode Island Family Court is about shades of gray. Very few people are all bad or all good. You can lose credibility very easily in Rhode Island Family Court.

6.) Concede what you must concede to maintain your own credibility.

In other words, do not lie or misrepresent obvious facts.

7.) At a minimum, create the perception that you are part of the solution

Even if you are the problem, you want the judge to perceive you as trying to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem. Judges are looking for equitable solutions not continuation of never-ending feuds. Rhode Island Family Court judges have too many cases on their calendar. They look favorably upon those who attempt to settle without judicial intervention.

8.) At least, give mediation a chance

Always be willing to at least try mediation even if you are positive it will not be successful. If you refuse mediation, you will be perceived by the judge as an obstructionist or unreasonable. Why should you be willing to try divorce, child custody or family law mediation in Rhode Island? See #6 above.

9.) Do not get bogged down in minutia.

This annoys the judge and takes the focus off the most important issues in the case. In other words, pick and choose your battles carefully. For example, try to work out issues such as the division of pots and pans and furniture outside of the judge’s intervention. Focus on the most important issues with the judge.

10.) Dress appropriately for Court. Again, perception is reality.

RI Family Court in not a nightclub nor is it the beach. No Shorts. No cut off shirts. Dress business casual.

11.) Keep the kids out of it!

Never bad mouth the other parent or discuss the case in any detail with the children. Never try to get the children on your side. Children are not your friends in the divorce. They are not your confidants. You should encourage a meaningful and loving relationship with the other parent.

12.) Third party reporters and investigators are crucial

Typically, the judge will ignore assertions made by both sides and look exclusively to independent sources such as the guardian ad-litem, child psychiatrists, psychologists, psychological evaluations, investigators, dcyf and clinical social workers. Why is this true? Judges get completely opposite and diametrically opposite factual assertion from the parties and do not have the time to try to sort it all out. In many cases it is impossible to sort out who is telling the truth. Therefore, the Rhode Island Family Court judges look to the above-mentioned trusted sources.

Legal Notice per RI Rules of Professional Responsibility:

Trials are rare but increasingly more common, lately

October 6, 2010 By David Slepkow

Why are there so few divorce trials in RI Family Court? If you visited Providence or Kent County Family Court for an entire month walking from courtroom to courtroom you probably will not see that many divorce trials. However, in the last five years, with new progressive judges taking the bench, there have been a lot more trials. Trials and testimonial hearings are becoming more prevalent. Some judges are regularly scheduling and hearing lengthy trials and testimonial hearings.

Why are there so few Divorce Trials in Rhode Island Family Court?

If you visit Providence Family Court for an entire month walking from courtroom to courtroom, you would see some divorce trials but not a lot. Of the divorce trials that actually start, only a small percentage are completed with a Family Court Justice issuing a decision on the merits.

Difference between a divorce trial and divorce decision

If there are thousands of cases filed in Rhode Island Family Court, why are there so few trials? Divorce trials are very different from divorce hearings. A hearing is when a judge takes testimony or hears arguments from counsel about pretrial matters such as child custody, child support, child visitation, contempt, restraining orders, discovery motions, motions to modify child support, temporary alimony etc. If your family court matter is headed to trial, you need a Rhode Island Family Court attorney representing you throughout the process. A divorce trial in Rhode Island is a complicated matter and you should get a Rhode Island divorce lawyer on your side.

Divorce testimonial hearings occur much more frequently than divorce trials

Divorce hearings occur much more frequently than divorce trials. A divorce hearing is not the actual divorce trial. A divorce hearing is usually to resolve a pretrial matter or motion for temporary orders. If you are visiting court and see someone testifying, it is most likely a hearing or a nominal hearing rather than a divorce trial. When the parties reach a divorce settlement pursuant to Rhode Island law, there must be a brief “nominal” hearing in which the parties must testify. This type of hearing is a formality.

Reasons for the small number of Rhode Island divorce trials

There are a myriad of reasons for the minuscule amount of Rhode Island divorce trials. A fundamental “culture” and practice has evolved over decades in Rhode Island Family Court which is premised on strongly encouraging out of Court settlements, both directly and indirectly. In some instances, the pressure for a settlement is direct from the trial judge. In other instances, the parties perceive that if they are the person who is perceived as being unreasonable that there will be some sort of penalty or adverse ruling at trial. That perception is just a perception rather than a reality in the vast majority of cases. Modern judges do not usually penalize a litigant for going to trial.

In some ways, a divorce trial is a breakdown of the system because the entire process is premised around parties reaching a settlement prior to trial. The system in itself tends to wear the parties down to the point that they feel they have no other realistic option but to settle. Parties can be worn down both emotionally and financially by the Rhode Island Family Court process.

Divorce trials often have no clear cut winner or loser

As far as equitable division of Assets in a Rhode Island Divorce is concerned, there is usually no absolute winners and losers. In a Rhode Island Contract or Personal Injury case that goes to trial, there is usually a winner and loser. In a criminal trial, the accused is either guilty or not guilty after trial. In a divorce trial, the associate justice attempts to fashion an equitable solution to divide assets. In other words, if you cannot settle your divorce there will be a quasi settlement imposed by the judge after hearing testimony.

A seasoned and experienced Rhode Island Divorce Lawyer often has a general idea as to the outcome of the divorce trial. Many cases settle because the attorney informs their client that they cannot in all likelihood do better at trial and may do a lot worse.

How do parties get worn down to the point of settlement?

There are often many court dates prior to the Divorce Trial that involve waiting hours to have motions or pretrial conferences resolved. Cases are often continued for various reasons including the calendars of Lawyers, the litigants and the Judges. Some cases are continued because more information or documents are needed or more time is needed for various reasons. There are often frequent review dates to determine the progress of certain orders. For example, in a divorce involving Visitation or Child Custody issues, the

Family Court may hold frequent review dates to determine the progress and compliance with a visitations schedule. If a person is not paying child support on a timely basis or is falling behind on child support, there may be frequent review dates to insure compliance with Rhode Island Child Support Court orders.

Motions and pretrial conferences

In contentious Divorce cases, the parties through their Divorce lawyers in RI often file frequent motions concerning, Child Custody, Child Support, Child Visitation, Restraining Orders and the disposition of Marital assets.

There are often frequent pretrial conferences in which the judge attempts to facilitate a settlement or helps the parties find a middle ground towards settlement. The Rhode Island Family Court process can wreak havoc on a litigants work schedule causing their employer to become disappointed. Some people lose their job as a result of frequent Rhode Island Family Court appearances. Some people lose income as a result of the RI Divorce process.

Loss of Dignity

Many people lose a sense of their dignity going through the sometimes contentious, confusing and unpredictable divorce process. There is one fundamental truth in Rhode Island Family Court. Everyone must go through a similar process irrespective or race, gender and socioeconomic class. Usually in contested Rhode Island Divorce cases, the only thing that is predictable is the unpredictable nature of Rhode Island Family Court. Attorney fees can become too expensive for a party to afford. Expensive Attorneys fees may be caused by frequent lengthy Court Dates, waiting in Court, the time and expense of answering discovery and preparing for the trial. In some cases when one spouse has more resources then the other spouse they may try to drive up the other spouse’ attorney fees to essentially force them into settlement. This is very unfair but it is the real world of divorce in Rhode Island (RI).

Encouraging settlement

The trial Judge often will make every effort to encourage the husband and wife to come to a settlement prior to starting a trial. Some judges will require mediation by the Court appointed Mediators. Other RI Family Court Judges will require the parties to essentially lock themselves in a conference room with their lawyers in the Courthouse for a day or perhaps several days until they reach a settlement. Negotiating in the Courthouse prior to trial and mediation may be time consuming and expensive for the parties.

Divorce is expensive

It is very expensive and time consuming endeavor for a Rhode Island Divorce Attorney to prepare for a Divorce Trial. Parties often want to curtail the amount of trial preparation because of the expense. A RI divorce Lawyer must prepare testimony for all witnesses they intend to call to testify in the proceeding. The divorce attorney RI must prepare cross examinations of all opposing witnesses, prepare exhibits, prepare opening and closing statements. The Lawyer must also be prepared to argue motions as well as draft an extensive pretrial memorandum etc. Many clients do not want to pay the additional expense for their Attorneys’ trial preparation and would rather settle.

Divorce trials not like you see on tv

Divorce trials are not similar to the trials that you see on television. Often judges have many other matters on the calendar on the day the divorce trial is scheduled. In Many instances, the divorce trial will not start until after 11am. It is not unusual for the court to allow only 2 hours a day for the actual trial. Sometimes the Court will hear less than 2 hours of trial testimony in a day. Therefore a trial can take many days to complete. Some Trials take weeks or months to complete.

Let’s take a look at the various Counties in Rhode Island. Newport Family Court has 1 judge hearing divorce trials. That Judge is also responsible to hear and decide all Family Court matters in Newport County Family Court including Child Support, Divorce, Child Custody, Restraining orders etc. On most days the Judge must resolve all matters scheduled for that day. The Judge cannot cancel all other important family Court business in order to hear a trial in Newport. The Judge must fit the trial into his or her schedule. This usually means that the trial will start after all of the courts business is resolved for that day. Newport County Includes Newport RI, Middletown, Portsmouth and Tiverton.

Kent County has 2 judges handling Divorce, Child Custody, Visitation and Family Court matters. Kent County Family Court includes Warwick, East Greenwich, Coventry and North Kingston. Washington County Family Court has 1 judge hearing Divorce, Post Divorce Motions, Child Custody, Child support, Adoptions and Family Court matters. Washington county Family Court includes Wakefield, South Kingston and Narragansett etc. Providence County Family Court includes Providence, Pawtucket, Barrington, Bristol, Warren, East Providence, Cumberland etc. Providence County has a judge and a magistrate hearing contested divorce trials.

Why does the system “wear down” divorce litigants?

The Court system is overburdened and judges have many cases on the docket on a given day. If every case went to trial the system would break down. If a substantial percent of cases went to a divorce trial the system would break down. The family Court Lacks the Judges and resources to have too many cases go to trial. The Court does not tell you it is trying to wear you down. The Judges may not intend to wear you down. However, the entire process has the practical effect of wearing parties down until they feel that they must settle to cut their losses.

Even though some parties do not want to settle their divorce, they fear that going to trial will be a loss of control. The loss of control is essentially allowing the Trial judge to make decisions rather than the parties agreeing to negotiated solution controlled by the parties. In a mediated / negotiated resolution, the parties have some control over the outcome even though they may be in some ways dissatisfied. Rhode Island Divorce Lawyers often encourage settlement so long as the settlement is fair to the clients under the circumstances. There is often pressure from the Trial Court Judge both direct and indirect to resolve the matter short of trial. All Judges want to settle cases! Judges rarely want to hear divorce trials.

It is not unusual for a case to go to the day of trial yet settle before the trial starts. Why does this happen? This phenomenon is often caused by clients and their lawyers attempting to get leverage to obtain the best settlement possible. There is obviously gamesmanship inherent in negotiations. Contentious Cases tend to settle immediately before a trial starts. Both sides are essentially driving at each other at 100 miles an hour but one or both usually veer at the last second to avert a collision. Of the cases in which trials actually start, I would estimate that more than 70% percent settle prior to the Judge issuing a decision.What is the solution to this problem? The only real solution is to settle your divorce in a manner that is fair and equitable and in your best interests under the circumstances and protects your legal rights. Sometimes this is easier said than done!

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.