Once your divorce commences it may be uncomfortable living with your spouse. If you want to begin to live separately sit down and determine if this is realistic. Remember, if you live separately there will be double the living expenses. One person may have family and can temporarily move in which can help alleviate the cost. Ultimately, if there isn’t a voluntary move, it is hard to have one person move out. Before addressing the procedure for removing a spouse from the ma

If you are contemplating divorce, you should be aware that the filing of a divorce triggers certain financial cut off dates. When determining marital property, the court will consider two specific dates. The first date is the date of your marriage, and the second date is the date of the commencement for your divorce action. Any acquired property during these two dates, unless it falls under limited exceptions for separate property which is not comingled such as inheritance,

You are contemplating moving but are either in the middle of a divorce or just signed your Stipulation of Settlement. Are you permitted to move? If there are no children from the marriage, then you can move wherever you wish. If you have children, the answer depends on the circumstances. Both parents are to spend meaningful time with the children. Having meaningful time with your children requires both parties to live relatively close to each other. The question then beco

Under New York law, the concept of post-commencement credits for mortgage payments most often arises in matrimonial actions, particularly in equitable distribution proceedings following the filing of a divorce action. “Post-commencement” refers to the period after the divorce action has been initiated. During this time, one spouse may continue to make payments toward a jointly held marital residence, including mortgage principal, interest, taxes, and insurance. Courts must th

An unforeseen issue in wealthy, high net worth, divorces is dividing airline points which can be more complicated than it first appears, because these rewards don’t fit neatly into traditional categories of property. In general, New York follows the principle of “equitable distribution,” meaning marital property is divided fairly, though not necessarily equally. The key question is whether airline miles or reward points qualify as marital property, and if so, how they should

One of the hardest decisions to make when contemplating a divorce pertains to your children. Custody is the term used to describe a parent’s supervisory relationship with their child. Physical or residential custody is when the parent resides with his/her child. Legal custody is the right of a parent to make decisions for the child regarding education, religion, medical care, discipline, and day to day events. You should try your best to reach an agreement pertaining to cu

After the commencement of your divorce action, both parties must think about maintaining the marital expenses until your divorce is final. The mortgage, carrying costs, insurance and other routine expenses still need to be addressed while your divorce is sorted out. There are many ways to accomplish this. The first and easiest way is to simply continue doing what you were doing pre divorce. If you are able to do that, you can concentrate on your divorce and hopefully conc

Divorce proceedings involving spouses in the military come with their own set of challenges. One of those challenges includes deployment. If the military-enlisted spouse receives deployment orders during the divorce action, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), codified in 50 USCS § 3932 applies. This statute applies to any civil action or proceeding, including any child custody proceeding, and is utilized to stay the proceedings pending deployment. Specifically, subsec

A concern for many is who will pay for the divorce. This is true, especially if one spouse has been staying at home to raise the children and take care of the household. As a result, this spouse now has a lack of financial resources to litigate their divorce. To begin, when a married couple begins the divorce process, generally they are divided into two categories, the monied spouse and the nonmonied spouse. In New York, Domestic Relations Law §237 provides that there “

After the commencement of a divorce action, both parties must consider maintaining the status quo regarding household expenses such as...

My advice to all of you who are in the middle of a divorce is to attempt to settle before entering litigation. While you may be angry or...

It is not uncommon for couples to have joint accounts. The problem occurs when money which would generally be defined as separate...

Annulments are commonly sought for a short-term marriage when there are no children. Since New York now allows for “no fault” grounds for...

In a New York divorce, you may hear the term pendente lite exclusive use and occupancy — this refers to a temporary order that allows...

In a New York divorce, a Domestic Relations Order (DRO) is a crucial document used to divide retirement assets like pensions or 401(k)...

Divorce can have significant tax implications, and it’s essential to be aware of how it may affect your finances. Here is part 1 of some...

After your divorce becomes final you may wish to move but are unsure if there are any restrictions. The answer is, if there are no...

In New York, equitable distribution is the legal process used to divide marital property during a divorce. Unlike community property...

Who is the owner of the engagement ring and gets to keep it during a divorce? If the couple decides before the wedding to call it off,...

This document may seem extremely daunting, but it is a document that is required in every divorce action. This document includes all your...