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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My divorce was very stressful time. Since we were able to agree with my ex-husband on many important issues I originally thought that I will be able to fill in all the necessary documents by myself. It turned out that it is nearly impossible task. The amount of paperwork was overwhelming! I was not happy with some lawyers I've approached - too expensive, too impersonal, too aggressive. When I met Lois everything changed. For very reasonable price she was able to help us - talked to both of us, gave us great suggestions. Everything went extremely well. It was quick and painless. We could not thank her enough!
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I had a complicated situation wherein I had to get a divorce through publication as my husband and I had not been in contact for 5 years and I was out of the US for a few years. (it was an abusive marriage) I reside in Buffalo and I spoke with several attorneys locally but I did not feel that any of the local attorneys were able able to understand my situation. Some suggested that I locate my husband, and each one of them wanted to start by identifying and listing the assets. Unsatisfied, I started looking for attorneys in NY city, and I found Ms. Brenner through Avvo. During the consultation, she was extremely kind and understanding and agreed to take on my case. Ms. Brenner helped me get a divorce through publication and she/her team took care of everything. All I had to do was provide her with documentation. I am grateful to Ms. Brenner for helping me get out of a sticky stressful situation. I would definitely recommend her to anybody in a similar situation. Thank you, Ms. Brenner.
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We have Lois Brenner to thank for turning our marriage around. We hired Lois as our mediator when we were considering divorce. When we started working with her and she realized we wanted to try to keep our marriage together she suggested a postnuptial agreement to get our marriage back on track. Having the postnuptial agreement made us both accountable when it came to our issues. Having this doc in place is clearly helping us redefine our marriage in a better way. I don’t know if we will never get divorced, but for now we are respecting each others’ boundaries and are aware of the consequences if we don’t! It was really cool that Ms. Brenner suggested this method as an option. Most divorce attorneys would not have suggested a way for us to try to stay together. She is very talented and unusual in the best possible way. If we choose to take the divorce path eventually we will definitely hire her again. In the meantime we are making it work. She is amazing.- Joseph M
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Going through with our divorce was very difficult time for me and my ex husband. Finding the right lawyer was very confusing, frustrating and time consuming. I was very lucky to find Lois. She is professional and human at the same time. In a few sessions she answered all of our questions, gave us great advice and filled and filed all paperwork for us. Our divorce was finalized very quickly and thanks to Lois it was very smooth process. If my best friend would need a divorce lawyer I would recommend Lois without any reservations.!!! Christina C.- Christine C.
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“You are extremely knowledgeable and the consummate professional.”- Ben and Jill
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“Keep up the good work!”- Jonathan
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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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Finding my way to Lois was the best thing that could have happened during my very contentious divorce. Lois took on my case with a level of care that has been above and beyond. She has been an incredible advocate for me, both legally, guiding me through this difficult process with knowledge and wisdom, and also personally, helping give me strength and support to stand up to my very aggressive ex husband. Lois is a gift, and I am so grateful to her and for the future she is helping to make possible to myself and for my son.- SC