Brooklyn Chabad Divorce Attorney
If you are considering going through Chabad divorce or if you are a member of Brooklyn’s close-knit Orthodox Jewish community or Hassidic community, and are considering getting divorced, you could find yourself facing some unique challenges and barriers when it comes to child custody. Some individuals who choose to divorce are in the process of leaving behind the Hassidic or Orthodox Jewish community. If you have children, this process could raise some unique challenges for your Chabad divorce. There have been many reports in the news of women and men losing custody of their children in a Chabad divorce. Because the Orthodox Jewish lifestyle is so different from modern New York culture, when couples divorce with children and one person in the partnership wishes to leave the Hassidic or Orthodox community, questions about how the children will be raised become paramount. Whether you want to maintain your children’s connection to their Chabad roots, or are looking to raise your children outside the Hassidic or Orthodox community, the Brooklyn Chabad divorce law firm at the Elliot Green Law Offices may be able to assist you.
Settling in Secular Court or Jewish Court (Beth Din) in Brooklyn, New York
One of the most important decisions you’ll need to make when going through a Chabad divorce is whether to settle your divorce in a Beth Din (Jewish Court) or in the secular courts. The decision you make could have major implications for your divorce and child custody matters. For example, the New York Times reported on a woman who divorced in Beth Din (Jewish Court) and agreed in her divorce papers to raise her children in accordance with Orthodox Jewish customs. When the woman later came out as lesbian and began wearing more western-style clothing, she faced the prospect of losing her children for violating the agreement.
When couples divorce in Jewish Court and then later one parent violates the terms of a divorce agreement, the case often needs to be brought before the civil court. When these agreements are viewed in the civil court setting, parents who leave their Hassidic or Orthodox customs behind can run the risk of losing custody because the civil courts may consider these Jewish Court agreements to be binding agreements. Furthermore, the civil courts tend to rule on what might be in the best interest of the children. In general, the courts tend to favor situations that preserve the ways in which the children had previously been raised. So, this means that if your children had been raised Orthodox Jewish or in the Hassidic community, the judge may rule for the continuation of these customs being observed. However, there have been other cases where parents have fought for their civil rights and free speech, arguing that agreements that force them to dress or behave a certain way around the children are in violation of their rights.
Cases where parents shift to more western ideals of dress, lifestyle, and customs raise unique issues when it comes to human rights laws, parental rights, the best interests of the children, and religious divorce decrees. Ultimately, if you are facing a dispute where you run the risk of losing contact with your children, it is in your best interests to hire a Chabad divorce lawyer in Brooklyn, New York like the Elliot Green Law Offices. A lawyer familiar with the unique challenges present in a Chabad divorce can help you navigate some of the issues that can arise.
Challenges of Chabad Divorce in Brooklyn
In addition to custody challenges where both parents may have differing ideas about how to raise the children, Chabad divorce can also raise other challenges for couples. Because of religious beliefs, one partner may want to leave the marriage, and the other partner may want to fight to preserve the marriage. Pursuing divorce when one party doesn’t want to divorce can raise challenges because there are tactics individuals can use to delay the divorce process. For some individuals caught in divorce limbo, it can feel like they’ll never be set free. Divorce is the formal process by which a marriage ends. It grants both divorced parties the right to remarry, manage and control their own finances, and finalizes divisions of property.
To complicate matters further, if the man refuses to divorce the wife, the wife may ultimately be able to get divorced in the civil courts, but the religious courts may not agree to honor the divorce. It can create a unique situation where a woman may be divorced in the eyes of the law, but not divorced in the eyes of the Chabad community. For women who want to remain connected to their Orthodox or Chabad community, this can be very difficult.
The Elliot Green Law Offices is a Brooklyn Chabad divorce law firm that can help you and your family navigate the unique challenges of Chabad divorce. Our lawyer understands that when you’re getting divorced in the Chabad community, you may find yourself navigating religious law, civil law, and uncertainties about the future. Any divorce raises questions about what life will be like going forward, where the children will reside, and how they will be raised. With a Chabad divorce, addressing these questions before a divorce agreement is finalized is very important. Contact the Elliot Green Law Office, a Chabad divorce law firm in Brooklyn, New York today.
