I really enjoyed presenting at Fordham Law School last weekend alongside the great (and brilliant) Veronica Escobar, Esq. My presentation, embedded below, discusses the jurisdictional differences between Supreme Court and Family Court, the procedures for starting a divorce, the uncontested v. contested divorce path, Notice of Automatic Orders, types of matrimonial agreements, prenuptial agreements, grounds for an annulment vs. grounds …
Primer in New York Matrimonial Law
I will be giving a primer in New York matrimonial law along with (the fabulous) Veronica Escobar, Esq. next Saturday, January 24, 2015 at Fordham University, School of Law during the “Bridge the Gap” Continuing Legal Education seminar designed for newly-admitted attorneys. We will be discussing the following issues: Divorce Paths Jurisdictional differences between Family Court and Supreme Court Alternative …
The Termination of Spousal Maintenance in New York
I get a lot of questions from client regarding spousal maintenance (or alimony) and when it terminates. No matter how much maintenance is awarded or how long the duration of the maintenance is, in all cases maintenance ends upon remarriage of the recipient spouse, cohabitation of the recipient spouse with another man or woman (even if you are not legally …
Want To See What A Divorce Consultation With Me Is Like?
I will be giving a Mock Divorce Consultation to my BNI Chapter on December 2nd from 6 to 7:30pm at Club 101 in Midtown Manhattan. BNI is a great networking organization. For those of you in New York City, please come visit! More info here. If you are interested in visiting, please let me know.
A Primer on Matrimonial Law in New York
I will be giving an overview of New York divorce law at Fordham Law School on January 24, 2015 for the Bridge the Gap CLE along with Veronica Escobar titled “A Primer on Matrimonial Law in New York.” Veronica and I will give an overview of New York matrimonial law beginning with the two different paths to divorce: the contested …
Five Years? How’d That Happen? Happy Five Year Anniversary to Rincker Law
Time flies when you’re having fun, right? Last month, Rincker Law (and this blog) celebrated its Five Year Anniversary. Seems like just yesterday that I was writing this blog celebrating four years of my business (see my first, second, and third anniversary posts). The highlights of my fifth year in business have been writing my *first* book, being an Adjunct …
When a Couple Calls it Splitzo, Who Gets Custody of the Dog?
In young couples and/or childless couples, custody of pets has been a sore subject that has come up in my practice. Pets are interesting because they are not children, but they are not exactly purely personal property either. Custody over a mini dachshund named Joey was at issue in the interesting case of Travis v. Murray, 42 Misc.3d 447 (Sup. …
An Annulment in New York Based on Fraud
You can obtain an annulment based on one of the five reasons set forth in New York Domestic Relations Law (“DRL”) Section 140. This post will focus on an annulment based on fraud-DRL 140(e). Pursuant to this statute: An action to annul a marriage on the ground that the consent of one of the parties thereto was obtained by force …
Why Hire an Attorney for an Uncontested Divorce When Forms are Available Online?
Filing a New York uncontested divorce or an annulment can seem easy to do. In the case of an uncontested divorce, there are forms available on the court’s website. For annulments though, there are no forms available to the public, but it is substantially similar to filing for an uncontested divorce. That being said, there are over 15 documents that …
New York Divorce: Rehabilitative Spousal Maintenance
Durational (a/k/a rehabilitative) maintenance can be awarded to enable the lesser-monied spouse to get back on his or her feet and become self-sufficient following a divorce. Most commonly, durational maintenance is usually provided to spouses that have been out of work for a while or spouses who are caring full-time for young children and need time and resources to become …
That Pesky Student Loan Debt and Divorce
In case you missed it, I was quoted in this Wall Street Journal article talking about premarital student loan debt and divorce (and admitting my law school debt load). In a marriage, everything fits into one of three buckets: separate property for each spouse and marital property. Debt also fits into one of these buckets. In New York, property and …
Divorce: I’m Living in a Pre-Marital Home- Now What?
All property in a divorce fits into one of three buckets: (1) Husband’s separate property, (2) Wife’s separate property, and (3) Marital Property. Property will be divided by equitable distribution (which does not necessarily mean equal). Marital property is broadly construed in order to give effect to the ‘economic partnership’ concept of the marriage relationship recognized in the statute. Separate …