LSNYC provides direct legal representation to DV survivors in all types of domestic and family law matters. Our attorneys provide holistic services and representation on all pending matters, including but not limited to the following: obtaining and enforcing protection orders; defending against retaliatory protection orders; obtaining uncontested and contested divorces including the equitable distribution of marital property; obtaining or maintaining custody of children; securing safe visitation; obtaining and enforcing child support orders; obtaining and enforcing spousal support/maintenance orders; and defending allegations of child neglect based on a client’s status as a victim of domestic violence.
We also assist clients with child welfare proceedings and provide assistance to children who are victims of abuse. Our program also provides immigrant DV survivors with immigration legal assistance, including victims of crime and trafficking. Our DV advocates work closely with related civil practices, including housing rights, income security, education and immigration. To promote housing stability, DV clients may receive services to prevent evictions and foreclosures or to mandate access to or protect one’s housing subsidy or public housing placement. To secure financial independence from one’s abuser, our advocates provide legal services in economic areas, including disability advocacy, low-income taxpayer advocacy (particularly in filing innocent spouse petitions to protect DV survivors from debts incurred by abusers), consumer debt resolution and employment rights.
Our Legal Assistance Hotline is open Monday through Friday from 9:30am to 4pm. Call 917-661-4500 to speak to an intake officer in any language.
RESOURCES:
- Advance Directives: A Guide to Creating Wills, Living Wills, Healthcare Proxy, Power of Attorney & Standby Guardianship (Guide, 2020)
English, Español (Spanish), 简化字 (Simplfied Chinese) - How to Challenge a State Central Register (“SCR”) of Child Abuse/Neglect (Fact Sheet, 2020)
English, Español (Spanish), 简化字 (Simplfied Chinese) - “More People to Listen”: Legal and Social Service Needs of Bronx Communities Affected by Intimate Partner Violence (Research, 2016)
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