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Kathryn S. Lazar, Esq.

  • Proper Courtroom Behavior and Attire

    DON’T CANCEL OUT YOUR INVESTMENT IN LEGAL FEES BY DRESSING OR ACTING INAPPROPRIATELY A British website, judiciary.gov.uk, says “When you see a judge or magistrate sitting in court, you are actually looking at the result of 1,000 years of legal evolution.” The US judicial system is descended from the English system and inherits some but not

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  • Recordings of Children – Can they be used in court?

    IS RECORDING KIDS ILLEGAL EAVESDROPPING? Lately my work in custody cases has got me focused on the use of recordings of minor children as evidence in court. It’s so easy to record anything these days; just whip out your smartphone. But maybe using that smartphone isn’t so smart. When it comes to recording phone calls

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  • Legal Consultations–Fee or Free?

    WHY SOME LAWYERS CHARGE A CONSULTATION FEE AND SOME DON’T We are sometimes asked why we charge a consultation fee when some attorneys give free consults.  Our reasons are rooted in the quality of a potential client’s decision-making following the consultation. At Lazar & Schwartz we don’t treat the consultation as a chance to sell

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  • Family Offense Petitions

    WHAT IS A FAMILY OFFENSE PETITION AND HOW DO I KNOW IF I NEED ONE? DO YOU FEEL UNSAFE?  The breakup of a family, no matter how civil or calm, can be tense and stressful for all its members.  People who have behaved rationally in the past may not do so during this time, and

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  • Introducing Your New Love to Your Children

    WHETHER, WHEN AND HOW TO INTRODUCE YOUR KIDS AND YOUR NEW SIGNIFICANT OTHER You’re divorced or separated and you’re dating someone you’re serious about. You want to introduce your new partner to your children. You want this introduction to go well. After all, these are the most important people in your life. How do you

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  • Holiday Blues

    STRESS MANAGEMENT AT HOLIDAY TIME BEGINS WITH YOU There are many articles about ways to manage stressful family situations during the holidays, especially situations involving children.  There are articles about two-house families post-divorce, blended families (yours, mine, ours), loyalty to multiple families, stress around step-families, toxic and dysfunctional families, dreading and avoiding family at holidays, family-related tension at holidays, surviving the family holiday, family fights at holidays — you name it.

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  • Divorcing and Difficult Conversations – Where to Begin

    DEALING PRODUCTIVELY WITH CHANGE TAKES COURAGE — BUT IT’S WORTH THE EFFORT Getting separated or divorced often requires having many difficult conversations.  Sometimes it is hard to know where to start.  If you are in the process of divorcing or are considering separation, read on. One of the better books on this topic is “Difficult Conversations: 

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  • Divorce — the legal process

    A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO WHAT HAPPENS IN DIVORCE Wishing you had a road map for your divorce? This article gives you the procedural basics. For purposes of this primer, we’ll assume the divorce case (called an action) is initiated by you. In legal terms, that means you are the plaintiff and your spouse the defendant.

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  • How to save money in your divorce

    IF YOU LITIGATE, HERE ARE SOME MONEY-SAVING TIPS Let’s be honest: divorce costs money, and litigation is the most expensive way to do it. Here are my top 10 ways to economize in a litigated divorce: Gather as much financial information by yourself as you can. Ideally this includes information for you and your spouse,

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  • Splitting annuities in divorce

    Is an annuity account in your divorce picture? An annuity can seem harder to split than a marriage, according to an article in the May 2016 issue of Research Magazine. An annuity account gives the account holder the  right to receive periodic payments, usually fixed in amount, for life or a term of years. Unlike pensions,

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  • Your child’s voice in divorce: children’s lawyers

    THE ATTORNEY FOR THE CHILD MAKES THE CHILD’S WISHES KNOWN Children are  stakeholders in divorce as much as their parents. How are children’s wishes made known during a divorce or custody proceeding? In New York state, children in certain cases are entitled to their own lawyers, who represent their interests before the court.  Children’s interests

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  • Your divorce case: settlement or trial?

    TRY YOUR CASE OR SETTLE IT — HOW IS THIS DECISION MADE? When your divorce case has passed the early stages and progresses to a point where you are deciding whether to go to trial or negotiate an out of court settlement, you have more information than you had at the start of your case.

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