The newest additions to New York’s DWI law are Leandra’s law and the ignition interlock device.  Leandra’s law makes it a felony to drive a vehicle while impaired by alcohol or drugs with a child who is fifteen years of age or younger in the vehicle.  The ignition interlock device is like a breathalyzer that is installed inside your vehicle and prevents the vehicle from being operated if the driver has consumed alcohol. (more…)

Tags: aggravated dwi, DWI, ignition interlock, Leandra’s law

http://www.wben.com/Texting–Tweets—Facebook–The-New-Tools-of-Divor/8607356

Buffalo, NY (WBEN) — Think your soon-to-be-ex-spouse’s divorce attorney can’t find what you’ve “hidden” in your Facebook account?

Think again.

Information from social networking sites – including Facebook and Twitter, emails, text messages, and search engines is more and more frequently being used as evidence in court proceedings.

“It is a new phenomenon. We’re seeing its impact at a variety of levels,” Nelson Zakia, chair of Matrimonial Law for Hogan Willig, P.C. told WBEN’s Sandy Beach on Thursday. (more…)

Tags: divorce, emails, facebook, marital conduct, text messages, twitter

HoganWillig’s Estate Department represented two siblings in a hotly contested and litigated estate. The siblings were alleged out-of-wedlock children of the decedent. Our position was that the decedent had a long-standing relationship with our clients’ mother, even though he was married with marital children. Although the decedent had not completed a genetic blood test during his lifetime, we were able to have genetic testing completed of the known marital children against the DNA of the out-of-wedlock children to show evidence of a genetic link between all of the children. (more…)

Tags: EPTL, estate, Estates Powers and Trusts Law, paternity

Congratulations! You’ve signed a contract to purchase a new home and now you are waiting for your mortgage to be approved and for closing to take place. You are excited to move into your new home and usually preparation and economizing is a responsible thing. (more…)

Tags: credit, Fannie Mae, mortgage

In November 2009, Governor Paterson signed the Child Passenger Protection Act, also known as Leandra’s Law. The law is named after Leandra Rosada who was eleven years old when she was killed while in a vehicle operated by a friend’s drunken mother. (more…)

Tags: Child Passenger Protect Act, Leandra Rosada, Leandra's Law, ROAD SAFE Act

It has long been rumored that the divorce rate in America has reached an all-time high with a predicted 50% of marriages ending in divorce.  In New York State, the process of divorce has been especially renowned to be complicated, emotionally and financially damaging, and torturously long.  This characterization seems well deserved considering, as NBC New York points out, New York was the only state in America lacking no-fault divorce legislation.  However, (more…)

Tags: divorce, new york state, Protecting Women with No-Fault Divorce

In today’s economy, Americans have struggled to make a decent income or keep their jobs at all, a situation several Western New Yorkers can sympathize with. Despite this sympathy, there are an abundant amount of large corporations in the Buffalo area that seem to be profiting off the economic misfortunes of others and, surprisingly, the culprits are the debt collectors that promise to help us out of debt in the first place. (more…)

Tags: Debt, Debt collectors, debt relief, debt relieft agency