Long Island Family Law and Mediation Blog

Can a New York Judge Order Spousal Support for Less Time than the Guidelines Call For?

July 21, 2018 | Law and Mediation Office of Darren M. Shapiro, P.C.

When a judge presides over a New York divorce, one of the parties will often request to receive post-divorce maintenance payments, formerly called alimony, from the other party. Up until 2015, the determination of the amount and duration of post-divorce maintenance was largely left up to the discretion of the judge overseeing the case. However, in 2015, the New York Legislature enacted sweeping reforms of the New York Domestic Relations Act, particularly in regard to how post-divorce maintenance is awarded.

Hoping to standardize the manner in which judges were calculating and awarding post-divorce maintenance, the legislature stepped away from a standard that was almost completely relied on judicial discretion, and implemented a more formula-based system. Previous posts have discussed how judges arrive at the amount of spousal maintenance, but we have not recently looked at the durational aspect of post-divorce maintenance.

Under Domestic Relations Law section 236(b), the court still retains some discretion in determining how long a party is entitled to post-divorce maintenance payments. However, the formula for calculating the timeline provides a range of time, as a percentage, based on the length of the marriage as the presumptive time period for maintenance to last. For example, post-divorce maintenance payments in marriages lasting less than 15 years should last between 15% to 30% of the marriage’s length. For marriages lasting between 15 and 20 years, the post-divorce maintenance payments should last between 30% to 40% of the overall length of the marriage. Finally, for marriages that were over 20 years in length, the post-divorce maintenance payments should last for 35% to 50% of the length of the marriage.

Can a New York Family Court Order Spousal Maintenance Below the Guidelines?

July 8, 2018 | Law and Mediation Office of Darren M. Shapiro, P.C.

As discussed in previous posts, the judge presiding over a New York divorce has the ability to order one party to pay the other spousal maintenance. There are two types of spousal maintenance.The first is called pendente lite. Pendente Lite is a Latin term meaning “during litigation.” This is a temporary maintenance award that is designed to last only through the divorce proceeding. The justification for this order of support is that the spouse who controls the finances could otherwise cut off the other spouse’s access to money during the divorce proceeding before any judicial finding has been made. The second type of spousal maintenance is post-divorce maintenance, which continues for either a set term of years or, in rate circumstances, until death.

Both types of spousal maintenance are calculated by the formula contained in DRL section 236 and take into account similar factors. However, under certain circumstances, a judge can deviate from the maintenance amount provided by the formula by awarding more or less support, depending on the circumstances.

Determining Spousal Maintenance in New York Divorces Cases Involving High-Income Earners

June 29, 2018 | Law and Mediation Office of Darren M. Shapiro, P.C.

Following a New York divorce, the judge presiding over the case may require one of the parties to provide regular spousal maintenance payments to the other party. These payments – known as maintenance in New York but commonly called alimony – are calculated according to a specific formula laid out in New York Domestic Relations Law section 236(B)(6). Spousal maintenance may be ordered for a specific period of time, or, in rare circumstances, it may be ordered for the lifetime of the receiving spouse. There are presumptive guidelines for the amount and duration of maintenance based on incomes and length of the marriage.While spousal maintenance payments are primarily determined by the formula contained in section 236(B), there is a fair amount of judicial discretion in divorces with high-income earning spouses. As a general matter, New York law imposes an income cap when determining the appropriate amount of spousal maintenance. Back when the New York Domestic Relations Law was rewritten, the income cap was set at $175,000. However, the income cap increases incrementally year-over-year according to the consumer price index. The current New York spousal maintenance income cap is $184,000.

If a party to a New York divorce earns above the current income cap, the judge will apply the formula in section 236(B)(6) to determine the amount of spousal maintenance up to the income cap. However, a judge may exercise her discretion in ordering additional spousal maintenance by taking into account the party’s income in excess of the cap.

Will a New York Court Order a Forensic Evaluation When Grandparents Seek Custody of a Child?

June 23, 2018 | Law and Mediation Office of Darren M. Shapiro, P.C.

Many New York family law cases involve a child custody dispute. Most often, these disputes arise when the parents of a child or children go through a divorce and argue over who has primary custody of the children. However, in some cases, grandparents seek visitation or custody of a child. This may be after a divorce or even while the child’s parents are still together.In previous posts, we have discussed under which situations a court may award visitation or custody to grandparents. As previously noted, grandparents do not have a “right” to the custody of their grandchildren. Thus, custody will only be awarded to a grandparent if certain factors are present. Among others, a court must determine that awarding custody to a grandparent or grandparents is in the best interests of the child.

How Do Courts Determine What Is in the Best Interests of a Child?

Judges know the law. However, very few judges are trained in psychology, and fewer still are able to glean sufficient knowledge of a family’s dynamics through the evidence presented to the court. For example, much of the evidence presented in a New York custody case may be limited to text on a page, which may not provide a judge with much knowledge of the relationships between the parents, children, and grandparents. Additionally, any live-witness testimony has the potential to be biased or fabricated.

Grandparent Visitation in New York: Do a Child’s Expressed Desires Weigh into the Court’s Decision?

June 12, 2018 | Law and Mediation Office of Darren M. Shapiro, P.C.

In a previous post, we considered a situation in which the grandparents of a child or children sought visitation when the custodial parent was opposed to such visitation. This week, we consider a related, although slightly different situation in which the children themselves have expressed a desire for the court not to order grandparent visitation.As was the case in the previous post, section 72 of the New York Domestic Relations Law and Section 651 of the Family Court Act govern court-ordered grandparent visitation. Under section 72, grandparents who can establish that “circumstances show that conditions exist which equity would see fit to intervene” may obtain visitation rights.

While the issue of grandparent visitation can be a complex one, it is governed by a simple principle; as is the case in most New York child custody and visitation matters, courts will do what is in the best interest of the children. Of course, the expressed desires of a child may come into play when determining what is in a child’s best interests, although that will not always be the case.

Can a New York Family Court Judge Order Grandparent Visitation?

May 31, 2018 | Law and Mediation Office of Darren M. Shapiro, P.C.

Most New York child visitation cases involve courts establishing the rights and obligations of the parents as they relate to each other. However, New York family law does contemplate a situation in which a court can order visitation for a child’s grandparents under certain situations. This may even be the case when the custodial parents are against the establishment of such visitation rights.

New York Domestic Relations Law Section 72

As a general matter, section 72 of the New York Domestic Relations Law provides that visitation or custody rights may be appropriate for the grandparents of certain minor children. Subsection 1 deals with visitation rights. This subsection begins by discussing the procedure in a situation in which one or both of the child’s parents have died.

However, this subsection also allows for courts to award visitation to the grandparents even in situations in which one or both of the parents are alive, if the court determines that “equity would see fit to intervene.” This second scenario presents a more interesting situation in which the parents of a child are still alive, and at least one parent is against the issuance of visitation rights to the grandparents. Of course, as is often the case in New York family law matters, the court must also determine that grandparent visitation would be in the best interest of the child.

Genetic Testing in New York Child Support Cases

May 18, 2018 | Law and Mediation Office of Darren M. Shapiro, P.C.

In a recent post, we looked at the court’s power – and, in some cases, obligation – to order a DNA test in New York paternity proceedings. New York lawmakers have passed a similar, albeit slightly different, statute establishing when a court must order a DNA test in a New York child support case.Genetic testing can be a crucial part of a child support proceeding when one party disputes paternity. While the over-the-counter DNA testing that has recently become popular to determine an individual’s ethnic heritage has come under fire for its less-than-perfect accuracy, official DNA tests can often determine results with near certainty. That isn’t to say that state-administered tests always return an answer to a paternity question; however, when an answer is returned, the methodologies are such that courts are confident basing important legal decisions on the results.

Under Article 2 section 418 of the New York Consolidated Statutes, “[t]he court, on its own motion or motion of any party, when paternity is contested, shall order the mother, the child and the alleged father to submit to” DNA testing. When the language in the statute is broken down, the following is clear:

DNA Testing in New York Paternity Cases

May 11, 2018 | Law and Mediation Office of Darren M. Shapiro, P.C.

Ever since the time that DNA testing has been recognized as a reliable method of determining paternity, family courts across the country have relied upon the testing to resolve disputes over paternity. Indeed, the New York Family Court Act discusses the availability of DNA testing for the purposes of establishing paternity in section 532.In fact, section 532 requires family law judges or magistrates to advise all parties of their right to request DNA testing in paternity cases, instructing that the court “shall” order testing when any party requests it. That being said, the statute also prohibits DNA testing when the judge determines that testing is not in the best interest of the child based on certain enumerated reasons.

As noted above, parties have a right to a paternity test, and a test will be ordered if any party makes such a request. Additionally, the court can, on its own motion, order paternity testing even if neither party has requested it.

What are Unreimbursed Business Employee Expenses in New York Child Support and Maintenance?

April 29, 2018 | Law and Mediation Office of Darren M. Shapiro, P.C.

Divorce or family law issues for unmarried people is a complicated time for any couple, but situations can become far more complex when children are added into the mix. Not only do New York divorce attorneys and the New York Supreme or Family Courts need to determine who should provide care for those children in terms of custody, but they must also decide whether and what child support should be given from a non-custodial parent. If child support is awarded, then the New York Courts may use a range of factors to determine exactly how much should be given. The decision comes from a careful consideration of both the payor’s income, the custodial parent’s income, the child support guideline’s and reasons to deviate from the guidelines.

Before a payor’s income can be used to calculate child support payments, certain deductions may be applied to the total earning potential of the individual. The New York Child Support Standards Act provides a formula based on percentage of income, to determine exactly how much support should be paid. Deviations from the guideline amount of support can be argued or negotiated by family law attorneys or divorce lawyers. The Child Support Standards Act indicates that there are numerous things that can be deducted from a person’s income before the formula is applied, including:

Maintenance/ alimony to be paid to the current spouse
Maintenance/ alimony paid to a previous spouse
Child support paid pursuant to a written agreement or court order for a child for whom the parent already has a duty of care.
Supplemental security income
Public assistance payments
New York City earnings or income taxes paid
Federal insurance contributions act taxes paid
Unreimbursed employee business expenses

This blog will briefly discuss, what are unreimbursed business employee expenses? Continue reading ›

How a Spouse’s “Contributions and Efforts” Factor into a Court’s Equitable Distribution Analysis in New York

April 18, 2018 | Law and Mediation Office of Darren M. Shapiro, P.C.

New York is an equitable distribution state. Thus, when it comes to dividing up a couple’s assets in a New York divorce case, the court will consider a number of factors. However, before the court gets to the point of dividing up the assets, it needs to determine which assets are subject to the equitable distribution rules.Only marital property is subject to equitable distribution. And as a general matter, property that is determined to be the “separate property” of one spouse will remain with that spouse. Courts use a common-sense approach when determining whether property is marital or separate property. Under New York Domestic Relations Law section 13-236, separate property includes property acquired before the marriage and property that was gifted to one spouse by someone other than the other spouse.

In addition, “property acquired in exchange for [separate property] or the increase in value of separate property” will be considered separate property unless the increase in value is due in part to the “contributions or efforts of the other spouse.” This last category of separate property is often the subject of much dispute. A landmark case decided by the New York Court of Appeals set forth the framework regarding how courts view these claims.