New York Family Law Attorney
Serving & Protecting NYC Families for Over 35 Years
At Lois M. Brenner, Esq., we handle all types of divorce and family law matters – from separation, divorce, and child custody to prenuptial agreements. Regardless of the unique legal challenges you face, you can trust that Lois and our legal team will handle your case with tremendous skill, unique psychological understanding and compassionate support.
Types of Family Law Matters
No-Fault Divorce: In a no-fault divorce, neither spouse blames the other for the breakdown of the marriage. Common bases for no-fault divorce include irreconcilable differences, irretrievable breakdown, and incompatibility. Another common basis for no-fault divorce is that the parties have lived separately pursuant to an agreement for a certain period of time.
Grounds for Divorce: Grounds for divorce will vary from state to state, and may be no-fault or fault. No-fault divorce is now available in all 50 states, but many states still maintain fault-based grounds as an additional option. Fault-based grounds in some states have included adultery, incarceration, cruelty, attempted murder, desertion, habitual drunkenness, drug use, insanity, impotency, and infection with a venereal disease.
Child Custody & Support: If parents cannot agree on child custody, the courts will make this decision based on the best interests of the child. Determining the child’s best interests involves many factors. All 50 states have also adopted child support guidelines, some of which use tables to indicate the amount of support for different levels of income. Most states will factor in the income of both parents.
Adoption: Through adoption, a legal parent-child relationship is created between individuals not biologically related. In most cases, adopted children are entitled to inherit on a basis equal to biological children under state laws of distribution upon the death of a parent.
Should I Hire a Family Lawyer in New York?
It is a good idea to consult with a lawyer and/or mediator about any major life event or change, whether you need assistance with a contested or uncontested divorce, adoption, child abuse matter, child support modification, child visitation or custody dispute, writing a will, health care proxy or elder law issue. Your legal rights could be at stake if you don’t. Please contact Lois M. Brenner, Esq. for the advice and guidance you need.
Call our office today at (646) 663-4546 to schedule a consultation with Lois M. Brenner, Esq.
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I had read about Lois’ unusual divorce method in one of her blog posts. It was refreshing to see someone was working with the psychological issues in divorce. My husband is bipolar and getting him to agree to a divorce and commit to the process was tough. When we met with Lois she really understood him. She immediately identified his mental health issues, and because she has a psych background, she was empathetic to his needs and was skillful at guiding him through her divorce mediation process. It took a while but she really got us to a point where we could actually discuss things without my husband blowing up. Her method is unique and it really helped in our situation. She actually recommended a great psychiatrist who changed my husband’s meds at her urging (she has a medical degree too), and my husband is coping much better. We can’t thank her enough for her compassion and advice! If you need a divorce attorney, especially if mental illness is a part of the fabric of your marriage, go see Lois! Thanks Lois - Beena T.
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You two are really the dynamic duo! I can’t thank you both enough for the incredible job you did on my case. As a young career woman and working mother of a toddler I could not have been in better hands. You really toughened me up and guided me when I was feeling really lost. I was afraid of my husband’s clever antics but you worked hard on my case and encouraged me to fight. The settlement I received exceeded my expectations. You both listened, always returned e-mails, phone calls and even reached out to me on the weekends when I was having trouble. If anyone is going through a divorce and needs the best people to fight for you call Lois and Matt. It was the best thing I ever did. There are no words to express how grateful I am.- Tara P.
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I met with Lois Brenner nine months ago, and my life has been changed for the better! She and her legal team really encouraged me to leave a very abusive husband. They gave me the knowledge and courage to take the necessary legal steps. My parents were helping me and found Lois to be smart, and compassionate. My whole family felt really comfortable having her handle my case. I am finally divorced, away from an abusive man and ready to start a new life. I can’t thank Lois and her legal team enough for all the support I received. I got a much better settlement than I expected because they were relentless in locating money my husband had hidden. Thank you so much!- Kim B.
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Lois is a “Rock Star” I was very worried about my daughter who was in a really bad marriage. I started researching divorce attorneys and found Lois Brenner. I called her, discussed my daughter’s horrible marriage and she agreed to meet with us. Since my daughter’s husband wanted out of the marriage too (he was cheating), Lois suggested she help them dissolve their marriage in mediation. To my surprise it worked out. Lois was able to keep my daughter and husband from fighting during their sessions, and she helped them resolve all their financial issues. Since I was paying the fees to help my daughter, not having to go to court saved us a great deal of money. As a father, I am truly grateful for everything Lois did. Her talks with me in the beginning of the process, to calm me down, really helped. I would highly recommend her to anyone thinking of divorce.- Graham (happy dad)
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Lois acted as the mediator in my divorce, and she was absolutely excellent. It was a very difficult time for me personally, but Lois made the process as easy and painless as it could possibly have been. She listened to each of us separately, and made thoughtful and helpful suggestions. She is fair, and seemed to genuinely care about finding a solution that was best for both parties. Lois is perfectly qualified to handle this type of situation, given her background in psychology. She truly understands people, and used this ability to keep my ex-husband and I calm, and smoothly navigate a few tricky situations. I felt very understood by Lois, and think that she not just a top-quality attorney, but also a very decent person. She is responsive, and answered my emails within a couple of minutes every time. Highly rated!
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“You are New York’s best divorce lawyer!”- Danielle
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I am a highly successful money manager and before meeting Lois Brenner, hiring a divorce attorney was a disaster. Two previous divorce attorneys really wasted my funds, and had no savvy when it came to asset and property distribution. Lois Brenner finally fixed the mess I was in. She and her team of financial experts, including attorney Matthew Ehrlich were able to prepare an asset and property distribution that was realistic, keeping in mind tax ramifications, and important distributions and allocations. They negotiated a thorough and financially sound divorce settlement. If you have a lot of assets, just any divorce attorney won’t do. You really need someone with a lot of knowledge. Lois Brenner and Matthew Ehrlich were really impressive. Thanks!!- Michael C.
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Everything you said about mediation was true. My husband and I really connected in a positive way working out the details of our divorce in mediation with you. The arguing was endless but we finally heard each other. You have a lot of patience. The property discussions made everything so emotional. You kept us focused and stopped us from rehashing the past. We tell everyone about you. Hopefully none of our friends will divorce but if they do we will tell them they need you.- Tom & Philip R.