How is Durational Spousal Maintenance Calculated in New York?

Rincker Law Family/Matrimonial Law Leave a Comment

Pursuant to a divorce, spousal maintenance may be awarded for life, not at all, or for a fixed period of time.  In New York, lifetime maintenance is awarded in extremely rare circumstances.  Durational maintenance is awarded to the lesser-monied spouse of a divorce for a defined, fixed term.  The purpose of durational maintenance is to enable the lesser-moneyed spouse to …

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Sibling Visitation Rights in New York

Rincker Law Family/Matrimonial Law 24 Comments

There is a presumption that a parent knows what is best for his or her child and can decide who the child sees and when.  When parents divorce, siblings or half-siblings might be split and their relationships might suffer.  In New York, siblings (full-blood and half-blood) have a statutory right to visitation with each other.  This is outlined in New …

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Three Years and the Fun Keeps Coming…

Rincker Law Alternative Dispute Resolution, Awards and Honors, Conferences and Meetings, Food & Ag Law, Food & Ag Organizations, Fridays with Cari, Interviews, Mediation services, Rincker Law Events, Rincker Law services, Seminars, Social Media and Technology, Speaking Engagements, Video Conferencing, Webinars 2 Comments

Happy Third Year Anniversary to this blog!  Seems like just yesterday I was writing this second year anniversary post.  Time flies when you are having fun!  It’s been an exciting third year of this blog.  Here are a few highlights: 1.  This law blog (“blawg”) made the American Bar Association’s (“ABA”) Top 100 Blawg list.  Nominations for 2012 are right …

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How to Calculate Temporary Spousal Maintenance in New York

Rincker Law Family/Matrimonial Law 1 Comment

Temporary spousal maintenance is money paid from the higher-earning spouse to the lesser-earning spouse.  It is typically applied during the pendency of the divorce but it can also be used as a guideline when a couple is married for relief in Family Court.  I have received a lot of  phone calls lately from folks whose spouse decides to cut them …

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Completed NY Child Custody & Visitation Mediation Training

Rincker Law Alternative Dispute Resolution Leave a Comment

This weekend I completed New York child custody and visitation mediation training in Queens at Community Mediation Services, Inc.  It was a complementary training to my divorce mediation training this winter with the New York Peace Institute.  I am continually impressed by the quality of the education at our Community Dispute Resolution Centers (“CDRC”) in the state of New York. …

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“Contested” vs. “Uncontested” Divorces – So What Exactly is the Difference?

Rincker Law Family/Matrimonial Law Leave a Comment

In New York, a contested divorce is one where the parties do not agree on whether or not to get divorced, on what the grounds for divorce will be, and/or on all or some of the ancillary issues to the divorce including but not limited to durational/rehabilitative spousal maintenance, child support, and equitable distribution.  All or some of the issues stated …

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Spoke to Undergraduate Agriculture Career Class via Skype

Rincker Law Agriculture Education, Food & Ag Law, Food & Ag Policy, Social Media and Technology, Video Conferencing 1 Comment

Yesterday I had an opportunity to talk about being an agriculture lawyer to an undergraduate agriculture careers class in Wisconsin via Skype.  I remember being that age and not really knowing what I wanted to do. To tell you the truth, I grew up looking up to Colleen Callahan and wanted to *be* her…with a career in agriculture journalism/communications.  For …

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Animal Law Mediation

Rincker Law Alternative Dispute Resolution, Animal Law, Business/Commercial Law, Estate Planning, Family/Matrimonial Law, Farm Life, Food & Ag Law, Landlord-Tenant Law, Property Law Leave a Comment

I was recently asked whether I handle animal law mediation.   And the answer is, “why yes I do.”  I am a previous member of the New York State Bar Association Committee on Animals in the Law, New Jersey State Bar Association Committee on Animal Law, and the New York Lawyers’ Association Committee on Animal Law.  I have also had …

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Overview of Equitable Distribution in New York

Rincker Law Family/Matrimonial Law Leave a Comment

New York courts in a matrimonial action uses the term “equitable distribution” to describe how the assets will be divided between the two spouses.  The term “equitable distribution” refers the equitable (not necessarily equal) distribution of marital assets upon a divorce.   (When I tell my clients that the court divides things “equitably” not not necessarily “equally” I get a …

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So What If I Don’t Agree If My Marriage Is “Irretrievably Broken?”

Rincker Law Family/Matrimonial Law 8 Comments

As I noted in this post, New York now has “no fault” divorce permitting the court to award a divorce based on one spouse’s sworn statement that the marriage has been “irretrievably broken” for at least the prior six (6) months prior to the commencement of the divorce.  So what exactly does it mean for a marriage to be “irretrievably …

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Giving New Life to the Term “Spring Cleaning” – Does Your Farm or AgriBusiness Have a Scanner?

Rincker Law Food & Ag Pubs, Social Media and Technology Leave a Comment

I have to give a shout-out to a small little machine that has made a big difference to my life and law practice — the Fujitsu ScanSnap S1500M.  In preparation of my move to my new office space at 535 Fifth Avenue, I spent the weekend scanning files and documents.  I purchased this Bad Boy a few months ago and …

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