New York has a history of having a concentrated population of Jewish people who observe Jewish law. Currently, observant Jews who want to be divorced must effectuate a divorce that is valid under both Jewish law and New York state law, or they can choose not to marry under secular law and…
When a New York couple undergoes a divorce, it’s natural for their financial circumstances to change. After all,separating partners are moving from a single-household environment, to a situation where they each must pay their own bills, rent, and expenses. Or as the couple moves apart emotionally, while still living together…
Parties are free to agree upon what is fair for child support, equitable distribution, and maintenance when they negotiate their own divorce terms though mediation, settlement negotiations or collaborative cases. In litigated cases, in general, when it comes to making determinations during a divorce case about issues such as child support,…
In New York, annulments are rarer than divorces. However, though they may be less common, the procedure is still available for partners so long as the correct legal grounds are present. Underlying the concept of annulment is the legal theory that the “marriage” to be voided, after the annulment, was…
I recently wrote about the revisions to the New York maintenance (alimony) law which was passed in September 2015. It became effective for the temporary maintenance provisions on October 25, 2015 and for durational or permanent maintenance (the maintenance ordered for some period of time after the divorce if there…
The long awaited divorce law overhaul, that has major changes to the maintenance (fka alimony laws) was signed into law by the Governor on September 25, 2015 and is effective as of October 25, 2015 for temporary maintenance and in January 2016 for the remaining changes. The new law continues…
The old law in New York for temporary or pendente lite (Latin for while the case is pending) maintenance, prior to the 2010 revisions, was that temporary maintenance was supposed to “tide over” the spouse with less income (the “non-monied” spouse) while the divorce case was ongoing. There was no…
There are various resources out there free on the internet which are useful in practicing New York family law. The New York statutes are one of the most important sources of information and are located in different places on the internet. As a Long Island Divorce Lawyer, family law attorney…
When calculating income for child support or temporary maintenance (alimony), according to the New York Domestic Relations Law and the Family Court Act, the Court may, if the court believes it is appropriate, add in or “impute” income to people. The statutes outline some enumerated items to be considered for…
An order to pay child support or maintenance, that is part of a divorce judgment, can be enforced by filing a violation or contempt petition in the Supreme Court after the entry of a Judgment of Divorce. If exclusive jurisdiction was not reserved in the Supreme Court for dealing with…