Long Island Divorce Blog: Assets and Liabilities

by Fred on February 4, 2012

In a Long Island divorce everything of value that has been obtained by either of you during the marriage is a marital asset subject to distribution between you, with some narrow exceptions. You are each entitled to some share of that value. The same is true for debt: if it was incurred during the marriage you are both liable, again, with certain exceptions. Divorce mediation on Long Island can offer you a much faster, less expensive, and less emotionally charged method for determining who gets what. Read some of the blog entries listed below to learn more.

  • Does a 401(k) Distribution in Divorce Require a QDRO? Qualified Domestic Relations Orders (QDRO) are expensive; they are required in order to transfer pension assets in a divorce without incurring the 10% penalty for early withdrawal. But many financial institutions will transfer a 401(k) without a QDRO, and...
  • Divorce Medation Long Island -- Pensions and Divorce: New York State Teacher's Retirement System Your Spouse's New York State Teacher's Retirement System Pension is Marital Property If your spouse was employed by a New York State public school system and earned any part of a pension during the marriage you are probably entitled to share in that pens...
  • Divorce Laws in New York have major changes -- Long Island Divorce Mediation Major Changes in Divorce Law Effect Divorce Mediation.    As I mentioned in my previous post, New York state has enacted major changes in the law of divorce and effect divorce mediation on Long Island. In this post I will lay out briefly what each one...
  • No-Fault Divorce Comes to New York on Oct 12, 2010 -- Long Island Divorce Mediation now even a better choice Divorce laws modernized to no-fault -- makes divorce mediation an obvious choice.   The New York state assembly has passed a bill authorizing no-fault divorce in New York. Governor David Patterson signed the bill on August 15; it goes into effect...
  • Live-in Parents and In-Laws -- Long Island Divorce Mediation I had a couple come in to see me a couple of days ago to negotiate a separation. They appeared to be in agreement about most of the major issues and it did not look to  be a complicated set of problems to resolve. However, they kept beating about the bush...
  • Financial Planning and Divorce -- Long Island Divorce Mediation Too often, in the emotional turmoil of divorce, the financial realities get ignored by everyone involved. You and your spouse are dealing with years of resentment and fear of the unknown. Your lawyers are using whatever legal maneuvers are available to ge...
  • Ex-Wife Not Forced to Pay Husband's Legal Fees for Divorce Tactics Justice Robert A. Ross, of Nassau Supreme Court, has refused to award legal fees to the investment banker husband for his wife's "stonewalling" and "manipulation" during their divorce proceeding. Mr. Molinari, in Molinari v. Molinari alleged that his wife...
  • Getting Real in Divorce Mediation A couple came in this past Saturday, at 5:00 pm, to begin the process of Long Island divorce mediation. Now, ordinarily, I would not meet with people at 5:00 pm on a Saturday, but the wife was insistent and the husband was unwilling to come in during the ...
  • Can I keep the House until the children are grown? Part 2 My previous post discussed the issue of staying in the house while young children are growing up. This post is a continuation of that discussion. Often, one or both parents believe very strongly that the children should be able to stay in "their" home ...
  • Can I keep the House until the Children are Grown? Part 1 A couple came in today to consult about going the divorce mediation rather than the litigation route. The major issue on the wife's mind was this: how could she stay in the house? It was not clear what the husband was thinking on this issue; he had come t...
  • Is it a Business or a Job?, Part 2 In my previous post I discussed some of the basis issue in evaluating a small business in a divorce. We left off at the suggestion of using a business appraisor to evaluate a small business that has a few years of audited accounts and a history of busines...
  • Is it a Business or a Job?, Part 1 A common set of facts in a divorce mediation on Long Island is that one of the parties -- typically the husband, has what both he and his wife call a small business. It might be a landscaping business, or a remodeling business, or a construction business....
  • Court holds Sept 11th Compensation Award is Separate Property The Appellate Division for the Second Department recently held (October 5, 2009), in Howe v. Howe, that a September 11th Victim Compensation Award was 100% the separate property of the fireman-husband, even though some portion of the award was for economi...