Separation agreements, pre-nuptial agreements, post-nuptial agreements, and stipulations of settlement may largely contain the same contents, and serve a lot of the same purposes, but vary in the timing that they are made. One purpose is invariably to define the respective rights of each marital partner in the event of…
After agreeing upon the terms of a settlement in a divorce mediation, the drafting attorney usually will put together the settlement agreement. It might be in the form of a separation agreement or a stipulation of settlement. Since I am a New York City area, Suffolk County and Nassau County…
An uncontested divorce means that every possible issue necessary to settle the divorce is agreed upon. There are different processes available to settle all the issues. Kitchen table discussions between couples is always available, divorce mediation, collaborative law, four way meetings with counsel and clients, and attorney negotiations are some…
If your spouse refuses to go to divorce mediation or collaborative law, then the question is already answered since mediation and collaborative law are both voluntary processes. You still can get a divorce, but the process will be under the traditional adversarial litigation model. Some cases under the traditional approach…
The law in New York for the division of marital assets in a divorce is equitable distribution. Equitable distribution does not necessarily mean equal, although that is usually the starting point, it means what is fair. The job of your New York City, Long Island or Nassau County Divorce Lawyer…
In New York, in 2011 the legislature passed the Marriage Equality Act. This law gives same sex couples the right to get married in New York State. Under the law, out of state marriages for same sex couples are to be recognized in New York. Prior to the passage of the…
Divorce mediation, collaborative divorces and settlements in divorce litigations on Long Island, New York City and the rest of New York operate in the shadow of the law. What this means is that the law exists in the background but does not have to control the resolution of that particular…
A party to a divorce can change their last name back to a prior surname once the divorce is granted. There will be language in the Judgment of Divorce which either specifies the last name that can be resumed or that in general they may start to use whatever their…
Separation agreements or stipulations of settlement that come from divorce mediations or a collaborative divorce case are structured the same as a stipulation of settlement that emanates from a divorce litigation that was eventually settled. The differences between the three methods are in the process by which the agreements are…
Alimony is now known as maintenance in New York. “Pendente lite” (Latin for pending the litigation) maintenance, or temporary maintenance, is a legal term for the maintenance that is to be paid while a divorce case is ongoing. Pendente lite maintenance is different from durational or “permanent” maintenance which is…