Wealthy spouses headed for divorce often fear losing the lifestyle and standard of living to which they’ve become accustomed. The thought of emerging from divorce with diminished financial standing can lead a spouse to take actions that actually stand in the way of achieving favorable property settlements. Here are some of the most common mistakes in high-asset divorces that should…
Most people get married with the hope that it will last a lifetime, but about half of all marriages will not. Instead they will end in divorce, annulment or legal separation. Of these three outcomes, divorce is the most well-known but the other two may be more appropriate depending on the couple’s individual circumstances. Here is a summary of the…
If you are a parent going through a divorce, keep in mind that your behavior can have a pronounced effect on your child. Children cope with divorce differently depending on age, temperament, home environment and other variables. But no matter how resilient children may be, it is clear that hostility, tension, yelling and manipulation can have harmful effects on their…
In the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak, New York State and the federal government adopted measures to ban evictions of renters who had lost their jobs or had their hours cut as stay-at-home orders went into effect. The eviction bans were a lifeline for many New Yorkers, including those going through divorce, which added to the pandemic-induced financial pressures.…
Amid all the attention given to alimony, property division and other financial issues in a divorce, it’s possible that couples may not fully consider tax issues related to business entities that they own. This is a problem for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that many small business owners sometimes use business assets for personal purposes,…
In 2010, New York finally enacted a no-fault divorce law, becoming the last state to embrace a nationwide movement that began 40 years earlier. Among the advantages of the no-fault system is that spouses don’t need to assign blame or drag each other through emotional turmoil in order to end their marriage. Under the old fault system, a spouse suing…
Like any other legal proceeding, your divorce requires skillful guidance from a qualified lawyer who can protect your rights effectively. However, many spouses facing marriage dissolution are concerned about how their attorneys’ fees might add to their overall financial burden. This fear can be particularly acute when one spouse has relied on the other for financial support and so is…
Every year we compile data on marriage and divorce. Over the years, trends have become apparent and over time relevant trends occur. Most often people are aware of what causes divorce, but they do not know what causes the opposite; a long lasting safe, and healthy relationship. We have compiled all our research for this year and have determined the…
When a couple divorces in New York, the assets in their marital estate are equitably distributed based on a settlement agreement or a judge’s decision. However, the distribution cannot proceed fairly unless both spouses have a full accounting of the property and debts that must be divided. State law requires parties in a divorce to complete a financial disclosure affidavit…
When divorced parents share legal custody, each one has an equal say in the children’s medical care. So what happens when parents do not see eye-to-eye over the COVID-19 vaccine? New York State made the COVID-19 vaccine available to children 12 years old and older starting in May 2021, with the goal of making shots available to younger children in…