Experienced New York Divorce Lawyer

One area of family law in which many clients seek the help of an attorney is divorce. These cases are often complex and difficult to handle without the assistance and guidance of legal counsel that is experienced in handling a variety of divorce matters.

Riebling, Proto & Sachs, LLP provides compassionate and professional divorce representation to clients throughout Westchester County, Putnam County, Rockland County, Dutchess County, Bronx County and the City of New York.

Free Legal Advice on New York State Divorce Law

At Riebling, Proto & Sachs, LLP our New York State Divorce lawyers are always available to answer your questions. If you are looking for more information regarding a divorce in New York, the information on this page will be helpful. If you have any questions please feel free to contact one of our divorce attorneys for a free initial consultation. At our law office we feel educating you about the divorce laws and process is just as important as aggressive representation in Court. During this difficult and stressful time having a compassionate attorney will help put your mind at ease.

New York State Divorce Laws and the Divorce Process

The following is some basic information regarding a divorce in New York State however, for more expansive legal advice regarding your specific issues please contact our law office and set up your FREE consultation. New York Divorce laws are complex and our legal advice will sort through the complex legal language to give you a good understanding of the process.

Residency and Filing Requirements:

In order to file for a divorce in New York State Supreme Court, residency requirements in New York State must be met for the court to accept the case. An action to annul a marriage or for divorce may be maintained only when:

1. The parties were married in the state and either party is a resident when the divorce is commenced and has been a resident for a continuous period of one year immediately preceding, or
2. The parties have resided in New York State as husband and wife and either party is a resident thereof when the action is commenced and has been a resident for a continuous period of one year immediately preceding, or
3. The grounds for divorce occurred in New York State and either party has been a resident thereof for a continuous period of at least one year immediately preceding the commencement of the action, or
4. The grounds for divorce occurred in New York State and both parties are residents thereof at the time of the commencement of the action, or
5. Either party has been a resident of New York State for a continuous period of at least two years immediately preceding the commencement of the action.

Grounds for Divorce in New York State:

In New York State the parties need to have grounds to obtain a divorce. The grounds for divorce in New York sometimes don’t have any consequence on the more important issues in any divorce case such as child custody and visitation, child support, division of marital debts or assets however, grounds must be chosen carefully and need to fit your specific circumstance.

At Riebling, Proto & Sachs, LLP our divorce lawyers will review all the grounds for divorce listed below to help you determine what cause for divorce fits your specific case and how that may or may not change other aspects of your case.

Grounds for Filing a Divorce:

1. Cruel and Inhuman Treatment: physical or mental cruelty or abuse.
2. Abandonment: your spouse has physically left you or has moved out without justification or intent to return. This must have been occurring for one year prior to filing for divorce. Abandonment may also be grounds for divorce if it is constructive, meaning your spouse refused to have sexual relations for at least one year prior to your filing for divorce.
3. Adultery: these grounds will be denied if you had relations with your spouse after learning of the affair.
4. Separation Agreement: working out a legal separation agreement and living separate for one year following your separation agreement will enable you to file for divorce.
5. Imprisonment: if your spouse is imprisoned for 3 or more years prior to your filing for divorce, this is legal grounds for a divorce.
6. No Fault Divorce: As of October, 2010 a divorce will be allowed if the marriage is irretrievably broken, for a period of six months, provided one party states so under oath.

Below are some of the issues that our divorce lawyers handle in connection with a divorce proceeding:

Alimony (Spousal Support or Maintenance)

Temporary Maintenance

As of October 2010, the laws regarding temporary maintenance have under gone significant changes. In order to address the complex, inconsistent and unpredictable nature of determining a maintenance amount, the law has been changed to establish a numerical guideline for calculating temporary maintenance awards.

The calculation is a benchmark and has been identified as determining the gap between the two parties income such that the less monied spouse’s income is less than two thirds of the more monied spouse’s income. For example, if the monied spouse’s income is $90,000 per year the guidelines will only result in an award if the less monied spouse’s annual income is less than $60,000 per year. The numerical guideline is only applied to the monied spouse’s income up to $500,000 of that spouse’s income with a set of factors to be applied by the court to determine any additional amount of maintenance on the monied spouse’s income above $500,000

The Court can always adjust the amount of temporary maintenance is the Court determines that amount is unjust or inappropriate.

Final Maintenance

There is no statutory change to the current law on determining final or post divorce maintenance awards except for revising the statutory factors to better reflect divorcing couple’s life circumstances. The amount and duration of the final or post divorce maintenance awards would still be based on a list of statutory factors as outlined below.

Though alimony is not awarded in every divorce case, our law firm can help you understand if you are entitled to alimony or may be obligated to pay alimony after you divorce. When meeting with our attorneys at our firm for legal advice for divorce, we can educate you on the various aspects of each of these types of support and which may be applicable to your situation.

When determining if alimony will be awarded the Courts will review several factors including the following:

• The length of the marriage
• The conduct of the parties during the marriage
• Age and health of the parties
• Occupations of the parties and their incomes
• Sources of income
• Vocational skills and employability of the spouses
• Assets and debts of the parties
• Any special needs of the parties
• The opportunity of the parties to acquire future income and assets

Alimony affects the current and future lifestyles of both the parties. Our New York Divorce attorneys will give you legal advice regarding the payment or receipt of alimony and how the above factors can be used to determine how your alimony case is ultimately resolved.

Property Division During Divorce (New York is an "Equitable Distribution" State)

When determining how to distribute the marital property during the divorce, marital fault is not considered in New York State. That is, the grounds upon which divorce was filed are not factors in property division. Also, New York is an equitable distribution state, which means that in case of a divorce property is divided fair and equitably between the spouses, but not necessarily 50-50.

Under equitable distribution here is a list of the issues to be resolved:

• The disposition of the marital residence;
• A division of deferred compensation plans;
• A division assets such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, vacation homes, etc;
• A division of marital debt such as credit cards;
• A division of vehicles that the parties own including who is responsible for car payments and insurance;
• A division of the enhanced earnings potential from the obtaining of an advanced degree by one spouse;

New York High Net Worth Divorces

In a high net worth divorces many of the same issues arise as in any other divorce matter such as child custody, visitation and grounds for divorce, however the financial issues are always more complex. This may involve an accounting of all the finances of the parties.

Additionally, prenuptial agreements may play a role; and our New York Divorce attorneys at Riebling, Proto & Sachs, LLP will be needed to assist in enforcing or challenging these agreements. It is important to note that equitable distribution does not refer to 50-50 distribution. You will need an experienced New York divorce lawyer to help protect your rights and assets in these cases.

Some of the issues in High Net Worth Divorces include:

• Professional licenses or degrees held by a party
• Stock options, IRAs, 401(k) accounts and pensions
• Trusts
• Real estate / real property
• Family businesses
• Professional practices

High net worth divorces require the experience of a knowledgeable divorce lawyer. Our divorce lawyers have the resources to fully investigate sources of assets and income and help protect your financial interests.

Divorce and Children's Issues

Probably the most important of any divorce case are issues involving children. It is important that any issues involving children of the divorce are addressed as efficiently and effectively as possible. This can help minimize the trauma that children invariably suffer during the course of a divorce. By keeping their best interests in mind, comprehensive child custody and visitation, and child support decisions can be made.

Our divorce lawyers confidently handle the issues relating to children during the divorce, along with modification and enforcement of any family law-related court orders.

Pendente Lite Motion to the Court

The New York State Divorce lawyers at Riebling, Proto & Sachs, LLP will immediately discuss your options regarding your divorce matter and how to proceed. One of those issues is to request Pendente Lite relief from the Court.

A pendente lite motion is a request for the Court to enter an order granting temporary relief which is in effect during the time your divorce case is pending, until a final judgment is granted.

Common requests in such a motion are

• occupancy of the marital home,
• temporary child support,
• temporary maintenance,
• payment of carrying charges on a residence,
• continuation of medical insurance,
• child custody and visitation, and a
• restraint on selling or hiding assets.

Financial pendente lite relief is usually retroactive to the date of the request.

How Long Does a Divorce Case Take in New York State?

This is one of the most common questions client’s ask our New York Divorce Attorneys. Unfortunately this is not an easy question to answer and depends on your specific factual circumstances.

Generally, if you reach a settlement of all issues involved in your divorce and once the matter is submitted to the Court for approval the process can take 2 to 3 months. If you and your spouse are unable to reach a settlement, the amount of time it takes to get your case ready for further settlement negotiations or trial can range from several months to a year, or longer, depending on the complexity of the case.

Of course, your divorce can be settled at any time, and even a case where the parties remain opposed on fundamental issues (e.g., custody of the children) can be settled before trial where the parties remain open to compromise. Oftentimes spouses who were unable to settle their case in the beginning, are able to settle later during the litigation.

Contact our law firm today to learn more about how our divorce lawyer may be able to help you through your divorce. A free initial consultation is available. Also, flexible appointment times are available upon request to accommodate your family's already busy schedule. Riebling, Proto & Sachs, LLP has law office locations in White Plains (Westchester County) and New Windsor (Orange County), New York.

Our divorce lawyers are highly experienced with New York State’s divorce laws and will provide you with tailored legal advice regarding your divorce.