A child 17 years old and under who is alleged to have committed a crime will be summoned to Connecticut Juvenile Court and charged as a delinquent. Delinquency proceedings have benefits over being charged as an adult such as confidentiality of the proceedings and the ability to have certain records erased. Plus, the overall philosophy […]
Connecticut Juvenile Court and DCF can be intimidating and confusing. Plus, some DCF Investigations result in DCF filing Neglect Petitions in Connecticut Juvenile Court requiring the parents to appear before a judge and then other times DCF closes their case with no court involvement. In the most urgent of cases, DCF will request that the […]
Personal injury lawyers take cases on a contingency basis. This means that a personal injury lawyer is paid a percentage of the client’s judgment or settlement as a legal fee. Therefore, for some who are injured, there is a temptation to negotiate with the insurance company on their own rather than paying part of a […]
Over the last several years, the policy in scheduling DCF home visits has changed a bit. In the past, just about every referral DCF received resulted in an unexpected knock on the door. Now, unannounced visits are reserved for those cases where DCF believes that the child needs immediate protection. For example, a claim that […]
I get inquiries from time to time, on whether a legal separation or divorce is better suited for a particular client’s situation. For starters, a legal separation is similar to a divorce – the same laws apply regarding custody, child support, alimony and property distribution. Here are some considerations to help make the decision between […]
Whenever DCF is involved there is always the risk that they might file a Neglect Petition in the Juvenile Court. It used to be that DCF would file Neglect Petitions virtually any time an Investigation was Substantiated and sometimes even in cases where there was no Substantiation. However, over the last year or two, the […]