Fathers Being Awarded Custody Traditional gender roles once entailed that mothers primarily focus on domestic matters and raising their children while fathers left the marital home for work. Decades have passed since this was the norm, as more and more women have entered the workforce and many men have begun to share the responsibility of…
No-Fault Divorce in New York New York allows two types of divorce: at-fault and no-fault. The four grounds for at-fault divorce are abandonment, adultery, cruel and inhuman treatment, and imprisonment, and these remained the sole grounds for divorce for decades in the state of New York. In 2010, no-fault divorce was added to the roster,…
Divorce Mediation in New York There are two main options for resolving divorces in New York State: litigation and mediation. Both paths have their own respective uses and formats, but mediation is superior to litigation in the amicability that it offers. More bitter divorces go into litigation, and the spouses are left to argue about…
Shared Pensions and Divorce in New York During the distribution of assets portion of a divorce, it should come as no surprise that financial items as well as property will both be divided between the spouses. However, while the money in a bank account can be easily split in half, questions can arise over similar…
Divorce Papers Signed by Judge Can a Judge sign divorce papers after one of the parties has passed for month? Question: My husband walked out years ago. I could not afford a divorce, he recently filed for divorced February 2017. He passed away June 2017 and the Judge signed the divorce papers August 18, 2017.…
Paying for Health Insurance Premiums Can I be obligated to pay for my ex wife’s new husband for health insurance premiums? Question: My children’s mother and I share joint custody of our children. For the past six years she has carried insurance for our children (she had better insurance) and I have happily paid for…
Gifted Property from Another Country Question: Married for 10 years. We were living in Russia, where my father took mortgage on himself, paid it off and gifted apartment to me. By Russian laws this apartment belongs only to me (as it was gifted specifically to me), its not a common spousal property. After a few years…
Paying Child Support to a Stepparent Can the custodial parent move out of the state and leave the children with a step parent? Question: The custodial parent (mother) changed her residents from NYS to Florida, but did not bring the children. She left them in NYS with the step father, the paternal father was never…
Are a Live-In Partner’s Wages Included in Support Calculations? Is income of live-in partner used in calculations for child support? Question: Ex filed petition for modification of child support. He convinced 18 yr old to live w/ him.He wants to recalculate w/ each of us having 1 of our children. He’s asking that my 18…
Prenuptial Agreements in New York Congratulations on the engagement! The weeks and months leading up to your wedding will be as joyous as they will be nerve-wracking, but every day brings you one step closer to what may very well be one of the happiest days of your life. Amid the pre-marital bliss, you and…
Imputed Salary for Child Support Will salary be imputed if I worked 70% for 16 years pre-divorce & have negotiated contractual Agreement? Question: I’ve worked a 70% schedule since 1st of 2 children was born 18 yrs ago. Ex & I (w/ representation), voluntarily signed negotiated contractual Separation Agreement incorporated (not merged) into Divorce Judgement…
Petitioning for More Child Support Am I able to petition for more child support if ex has more children with new spouse? Question: I want to take my ex back to court to modify the support order. EX makes a significant amount more money now I’m guessing at least 15k more and it’s been more…