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Every lawyer who practices matrimonial law has had a case (and maybe several) in which it seems that they are living a Kafkaesque novel. However, there is a case in New York County Supreme Court that is remarkable. That case ...

The award of companion animals in a divorce has been an issue for several years. In 2015, the New York Senate and General Assembly passed a law addressing this subject, but the measure did not get to the governor’s desk ...

A recent decision out of Surrogate’s Court directly relates to the petitioners’ parents’ Separation Agreement.  (Matter of Estate of Richard N. Panella, Oneida Cty Surrogate’s Court File No. 2017, September 21, 2022).  While the case addresses a Will contest, matrimonial ...

New York has not permitted common-law marriages for almost 100 years. Only eight states currently provide for some form of common-law marriage, and some of these states only under certain conditions. Texas is one of the states which currently permits ...

In a recent Decision, the Fourth Department Appellate Division addressed an issue that has been lurking around child support calculations for many years. Livingston Co. Support Collection Unit o/b/o Yusko v. Sansocie, 180 CAF 21-01261 (4th Dept., 2022). That is, ...

After things going fairly slow in family legal matters due to the effects of the pandemic, there are several things happening in family law and the courts this spring, including: Child Support Calculations The biennial update of the calculations used ...

Recently, the New York Court of Appeals again addressed what makes a nuptial agreement valid. The Court issued one decision addressing two cases involving questions as to what is required to make a marital agreement a valid contract — and ...

Two recent family law cases that came before New York’s Second Department Appellate Division point out that attorneys and courts sometimes need to be prompted to follow what has long been the law in this state. Modification of Custody: Silla ...

The Fourth Department Appellate Division addressed an issue that arose in an adoption matter in the Onondaga Family Court.  In Re Tony S.H., Jr. [CAF 20-00300].  The question before the Appellate Court involved Social Services Law §383-c, relating to “guardianship ...

Justice Matthew F. Cooper of the New York County Supreme Court issued a decision on October 7 addressing the issue of a parent’s COVID-19 vaccination status in an ongoing divorce case. (C.B. v. D.B, NY Cty. Supreme Ct., 2021).  Although ...

Those of us who practice matrimonial law are always dealing with debt. The required Statement of Net Worth has a section devoted for every kind of debt there is, including “chattel mortgages.” However, today the biggest debt people have — ...

Over the past few years a new issue has popped up in matrimonial law — companion animal custody. Parties may be as emotionally distraught over who is getting the family pet as those who are disputing custody of their children ...