Adultery means less in divorce than it once did. Nationwide, and in New York, the movement in matrimonial law over the last few decades has been to make the divorce process less adversarial, less fault-driven, and more fair and predictable. The days of a spouse’s adultery causing financial ruin for them in divorce court are […]
Author Archives: Friedman & Ranzenhofer
Yes, even when you are the lower earning parent and don’t have custody, the court expects you to contribute to the care and feeding of your child. The state’s child support formula provides a guideline for how much you should try to pay, but if your situation calls for a different arrangement, and your spouse […]
During the discovery process, both spouses’ attorneys carefully examine the financial records of the other side. This information forms the basis of the settlement offers and negotiations. Attorneys will also be scouring the records to look for the telltale signs of missing cash or assets, which spouses will sometimes try to hide in order to […]
The preliminary conference is designed to give the judge and the two parties in a divorce action a clear understanding of what issues are agreed upon and what issues will require further negotiation or supervision from the court. Based on the discussions in the preliminary conference, the judge may decide that any minor children require […]
Not without the court’s approval. When New York Family Court hears cases about relocation with children after a divorce, it weighs various factors to determine which option is in the best interest of the child. Maintaining a close and loving relationship with their other parent will be one element the court evaluates, but that doesn’t […]
No, your spouse has no claim to a home you purchased before you were married, and you won’t be forced to sell it and share the proceeds as part of the divorce settlement. New York applies its equitable distribution rules only to marital assets, which are property, savings, debts, and other instruments that were acquired […]
It’s very common for divorcing couples to choose to retain the marital home, either jointly or by providing an equalization payment and transferring ownership to the spouse who will remain in the home as the primary caregiver to the children. For couples focused on making the divorce as painless as possible on their children, and […]
If your spouse has responded and your divorce is contested, several things will happen. First, your lawyer will file a Request for Judicial Intervention, or RJI. The RJI must be filed within 45 days from service, and a preliminary conference will be scheduled within 45 days of the RJI being filed. In the meantime, you […]
Your spouse has 40 days to respond, and how they respond (or if they respond) indicates whether or not the action will be contested. If your spouse fails to respond at all, they are in default, and you are able to proceed with the divorce without their input. Failing to respond is interpreted by the […]
While the state has clear child support standards that apply to most families, sometimes parents earn so much money that applying a strict percentage of a parent’s income would result in unusually large child support payments that may be far beyond the actual needs of the child. In situations where one or both spouses earn […]