People who are going through their first divorce never quite know exactly what to expect. We may know others who have gone through the process, but every divorce is different and there are many types of challenges that may arise. There are a number of myths and misconceptions surrounding the divorce process that may make individuals even more anxious than…
Under New York law, courts decide custody and visitation matters in “the best interests of the child.” Generally, there is a presumption that frequent, meaningful contact with both parents is in the child’s best interest, so even if one party to a divorce can’t share custody, that parent gets regular visitation or parenting time. Visitation usually has few restrictions, detailed…
If you signed a prenuptial agreement before you were married, you may be wondering what impact it could have on your divorce. And, if you recently perused the old document and gasped halfway through, then exclaimed, “They can’t hold me to that!” you’re probably hoping for a way out. Breaking a prenup – the process of having a court invalidate…
Divorce raises many questions about health insurance for you and your children. If your employer’s group insurance plan has covered your family, the court can require you to keep your children enrolled, even if you don’t have custody of them, by issuing a qualified medical child support order (QMCSO). The court might even require you to pay for your spouse’s…
Parental alienation is the term for one parent’s intentional or unconscious behavior that encourages the child to reject the other parent. Alienating behavior includes subtle physical or verbal clues as well as overt actions and candid statements that punish the child for maintaining a positive relationship or reward the child for rejecting the targeted parent. Alienating behavior is most problematic…
When a couple divorces, each spouse must make a full financial disclosure for the purposes of property division, alimony and child support. Often, a supporting spouse attempts to underreport income to reduce alimony and child support obligations. Here are a few ways a supporting spouse could go into a divorce with lower-than-actual reported income: Turn down a promotion or raise…
If you’ve been through a contested divorce, you’ve already fought to hold onto your separate property and a fair portion of your marital estate. So why let your estate plan give it all back to your ex? That’s what could happen if you don’t review your testamentary documents and financial products that list your beneficiaries. After divorce, you need to…
Life insurance is one of the financial assets you must disclose during your divorce as part of the equitable distribution process. But the court can treat your policy any number of ways, depending on your family’s overall circumstances: A piece of property — A whole life policy has cash value. The court may assess the surrender value of the policy…
For numerous reasons, individuals or couples may choose to place property in revocable trusts. These trusts hold the property during the grantor’s lifetime and then pass that wealth onto heirs when the grantor dies. When a trust is revocable, the grantor can change the terms, including the named beneficiary, at any time. The question for couples going through a divorce…
Parental kidnapping can involve snatching a child and fleeing the country with the intention never to return, deliberately failing to return a child on time to a custodial parent, and everything in between. Parental kidnapping is the deliberate violation of a custody order. It need not involve violence, threats or even removal of the child to a different location. Simply…