JESSICA RAPP

ASSOCIATE

Jessica Rapp brings her expertise as an Associate within Miller Mayer’s esteemed Litigation and Matrimonial Law practice groups, primarily focusing on matrimonial law.

She is a magna cum laude graduate of Syracuse University and obtained her Juris Doctorate from the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University.  During her tenure at law school, Jessica distinguished herself as a member of the Hofstra Law Review and gained valuable experience as a law clerk at prominent law firms across Long Island and Upstate New York.

Jessica’s commitment to her profession extends beyond her practice, serving as the Vice President of the Tompkins County Bar Association and a member of the Finger Lakes Women’s Bar Association.

Admitted to practice before all New York courts and the United States District Court for the Northern and Western Districts of New York, Jessica stands ready to provide exceptional legal representation and support to her clients.

AREAS OF FOCUS

Civil Litigation

With our comprehensive knowledge of the technicalities of New York contract law and our broad experience in a wide range of substantive law areas, we have the focus and know-how you need when others fail to meet their contractual obligations.
Our experience in contract disputes includes:

Joint Ventures
Leases
Intellectual Property Assignment and Licensing Agreements
Distribution Agreements
Sale of Goods
Commercial Paper
Purchase and Sale Agreements
Shareholder Agreements

When litigation threatens your business, choosing a lawyer with a thorough and sophisticated understanding of all aspects of business law is vital. The highly experienced attorneys at Miller Mayer, LLP can help.  We will draw on our extensive knowledge of business law – bringing team members when beneficial – to help you reach excellent and effective results. We will help you troubleshoot your business practices to avoid disputes, and when necessary, we will fight aggressively for your rights.
We can help you resolve disputes including:

Partnership / Shareholder disputes
Business Dissolution
Intellectual Property Disputes
Breach of Fiduciary Duty
Diversion of Assets
Corporate Control Disputes
Collections
Employment / Non-compete Agreements
Insurance Coverage

From commercial real estate to residential properties and construction disputes, the attorneys at Miller Mayer, LLP bring local litigation expertise and local real estate experience to bear to help you achieve excellent and cost effective results.

Trust and Estate litigation requires expertise in two areas:  trusts and litigation.  At Miller Mayer, LLP we draw on our depth of knowledge in these areas to assemble a strong and efficient team that is able to handle your case and achieve excellent and cost-effective results.
We represent executor, beneficiaries and fiduciaries in:

Will Challenges
Probate and Estate Litigation
Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims
Trust Disputes
Undue Influence, Fraud and Unconscionability Claims
Conservatorships
Accountings

Family and Matrimonial Law

Child support is mandated by state law, and is determined by a formula known as the Child Support Standard Act.  The judge does have discretion to take other matters into consideration when calculating the child support to be paid by the non-custodial parent, particularly when that parent earns more than a statutory threshold.

This is one reason that experienced and knowledgeable divorce counsel is imperative. The attorneys at Miller Mayer, LLP can help guide you through the laws determining child support. We can also advise you about nonpayment issues – whether you have found yourself unable to pay your court-ordered child support and need to know your options, or if your former spouse is not fulfilling his or her obligations.

For the children whose parents are divorcing, this is an anguished, unsettled and traumatic time. It’s all too easy for these children to get caught in the middle of negotiations. Even in an easy divorce, decisions about custody and visitation are among the hardest any parent will ever make. In a contested divorce, having the most experienced, sensitive and yet aggressive lawyer on your side is of the utmost importance, whether you are a mother or a father.

At Miller Mayer, LLP, our lawyers – who are also parents – have the knowledge and experience necessary to help ensure the best and safest solutions in cases where children are involved. We’ll do our best to help you resolve disputes in the least contentious way possible, but if necessary, we will fight our hardest to protect your rights.

Divorce is one of the most stressful experiences that anyone has to go through.

Financial problems, custody disagreements and, in some cases, domestic violence can make this an extremely trying time.

New York State’s divorce laws can be hard to understand and extremely complex, adding to the difficulties of couples navigating these circumstances.

Whether the divorce is contested or uncontested, a knowledgeable, compassionate and aggressive divorce attorney with extensive experience is essential. The outcome of a divorce can change your life forever. We can advise you about all of the deeply important issues that may be associated with the divorce, including:

Custody and Visitation
Financial Settlements and Spousal Support
Child Support
Equitable Distribution
Rights to Pre-marital Property and Separate Property
Rights to Pensions, Securities and Business Interests
Immigration Status
Grandparents’ Rights

Unfortunately, parties sometimes fail to meet their child support, maintenance, visitation or other obligations necessitating enforcement actions.   The attorneys at Miller Mayer, LLP have extensive experience in securing performance of every type of divorce and family law obligation.

A family offense petition is a civil proceeding in family court whose purpose is to prevent violence, end the family disruption and obtain protection for family members. The filing of a family offense petition often results in a temporary order of protection during the case. When a family offensive petition has been filed alleging that conduct is threatening or violent, having an experienced, sensitive and yet aggressive lawyer on your side is of the utmost importance.  The following acts (which are defined under the penal law) are the basis for a petition for a family offense:

Disorderly Conduct
Harassment
Assault
Criminal Mischief
Certain Types of Sexual Abuse
Strangulation
Menacing
Reckless Endangerment
Stalking
Forcible Touching
Criminal Obstruction of Breathing / Circulation
Identity Theft
Coercion
Certain Types of Larceny

Spousal maintenance (sometimes called alimony) is money an ex-spouse may be required to pay the other spouse after they get divorced. Temporary maintenance is money a spouse may be required to pay the other spouse while the divorce action is pending in contested actions only. While the presumptive correct amount and duration of maintenance is determined in the first instance by formulas set forth in the law, the exact outcome is significantly impacted by a number of legal issues and discretionary factors.    Having the most experienced, sensitive and yet aggressive lawyer on your side is of the utmost importance.

The highly experienced New York divorce attorneys at Miller Mayer, LLP can help you navigate this complex process and ensure that your rights – and lifelong financial stability – are protected.

Following child custody and visitation, the division of marital property is the most highly contested of all issues in a divorce. You may be concerned about complications arising around issues including:

Pensions
Investments
Marital Residence
Inheritance
Gifts
Retirement Savings
Business Ownership
Pre-marital Property and Separate Property
Earnings From Pre-marital Property
Unvested or Unexercised Options

When resolving these issues, which will impact your financial stability for the rest of your life, it is essential that you have a knowledgeable and highly experienced New York divorce attorney who will fight aggressively for your rights. The attorneys at Miller Mayer, LLP, will help you achieve your goals. Though we try to avoid litigation whenever possible, we will also fight by your side to ensure that your rights and financial stability are protected.

Cases involving the request of the custodial parent to relocate present some of the most challenging in the family law practice.  These disputes pit the interests of a custodial parent who wishes to move, against the interest of a noncustodial parent who has a desire to maintain frequent and regular contact with the child.  The law in New York places a heavy burden on the moving parent, requiring them to show exceptional circumstances and the best interests of the child where meaningful access to the other parent is disrupted.  These cases are fact-intensive and require careful preparation by experienced and zealous counsel.

In the event of an end to your marriage, a well-constructed prenuptial or postnuptial agreement can go a long way toward protecting your rights, your assets, and helping to ensure that a potentially expensive and traumatic divorce is as simple as possible. The highly experienced divorce counsel at Miller Mayer, LLP can help you draft a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement that protects the assets you have before the marriage, as well as any children you might have before the marriage; and eases the painful decisions that take place in the event of divorce.

An order of protection is issued by the court to limit the behavior of someone who harms or threatens to harm another person. It is used to address various types of safety issues, including, but not limited to, situations involving domestic violence. In family law practice, an order of protection arises from a family offense petition in family court.