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Westchester County Divorce & Probate

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Archives for January 2022

Questions to Ask When Hiring a Divorce Attorney

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Choosing a divorce attorney is almost like entering a long-term relationship. You need someone who is qualified and with whom you are also compatible. There are some questions to ask and ways to evaluate whether an attorney is the right divorce attorney for you.

How to Hire Your Divorce Attorney

Questions to ask attorney

Friends or relatives are often eager to recommend attorneys to you. This is helpful, but you want to be sure that the attorney is knowledgeable and experienced in family law issues. An attorney who obtained a great personal injury settlement for your brother’s neighbor’s uncle’s nephew may not be the right one to pursue your divorce.

It is a good idea to narrow down your search to about three attorneys. You will want to interview them all. You will be looking for someone:

  • Whose primary practice area is family law.
  • Who is trained in Mediation and/or the Collaborative Divorce process?
  • Find out if the attorney has taken the requisite courses and has the requisite credentials.
  • Someone who shares your philosophy. If you want to have a “nuclear war” and “win” at all costs, you will choose a different attorney than one who focuses on amicable settlements.
  • Ask what will happen if your case is not right for Mediation or Collaboration. Will the attorney pursue traditional litigation?
  • Determine the best way to communicate with the attorney. Phone calls? Email? Text messages?

Look at the attorney’s website. That will generally tell you the attorney’s practice areas and whether they are passionate about Mediation and Collaborative Divorce.

You will have a working relationship with this attorney, possibly for a long time. Although it is a professional relationship, at times it will feel personal. You want to feel a rapport. You need to feel comfortable with the difficult but necessary conversations you need to have about your family.

Contact Family Law Attorneys at Rosenthal & Markowitz, LLP

For answers to your questions about the divorce process, whether through Litigation, Mediation, or Collaboration, contact our family law attorneys at Rosenthal & Markowitz, LLP. We want to be sure you are comfortable with how we approach your divorce. You can reach us online or by calling 914.347.1292 to schedule a consultation.

 

 

How to Have a Child-Centered Divorce

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No matter how you handle it, divorce is a traumatic experience for your children. But if you put your children’s needs above your own and work together with your spouse to focus on what is in the best interest of your children, you can ease their transition in ways that will have a positive influence on them that will follow them for the rest of their lives.

Where to Start

The first thing for you to do is settle the custody issue. From there, other issues can be resolved, like child support.

Focus on the needs of the children and answer their questions. Children want to know:

  • Where will we live?Child Centered Divorce
  • Will we have to move?
  • Will we need to change schools?
  • What about extra-curricular activities?
  • Will we lose our friends?
  • Will we still see our other parent?

You may not be able to answer all these questions, but you can tell them it’s not their fault and that you both will continue to care for them. Consider that you will be co-parenting these children for the rest of their lives. Their needs will change as they grow, but you and their other parent will always need to work together as you both remain involved in their lives.

We tell our clients, “You are parents of these children, not until the end of the divorce, but for the rest of your life. God willing, you will be grandparents together. You should be able to get along. For the sake of your children, work toward a good relationship.” That is what it means to put your children first.

Mediation and Collaborative Divorce are Child Centered

Mediation and Collaborative Divorce are divorce processes that help to put the children first.  One of the benefits can be to bring in a child-parent coordinator to help you learn how to communicate with your co-parent in positive ways. You learn co-parenting as an evolving process as you learn to work together in the best interest of your small children and as they grow through middle-school, high-school, college, and become parents themselves.

Parenting is a long journey. Your children will need you even when they are adults. It is important for you to build a relationship with your co-parent that always focuses on the best interests of the children, no matter how old they are.

Contact Family Law Attorneys at Rosenthal & Markowitz, LLP

For answers to your questions about how to have a child-centered divorce, or questions about the divorce process, contact our family law attorneys at Rosenthal & Markowitz, LLP. You can reach us online or by calling 914.347.1292.

 

 

 

Divorce Questions – Am I Entitled to Child Support and Spousal Support?

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Almost every divorce client will ask whether they will be entitled to child support or spousal support. These are two separate questions and New York law deals with them separately.

Child Support
Divorce-Child Support

New York state has guidelines that establish how much money is required for child support. Child support depends on the family income. In addition, child support is statutorily required to include mandatory “add-ons”, such as childcare and unreimbursed medical costs. 

If your income is over a certain amount, child support is determined outside of the guidelines and depends on many different factors. 

Spousal Support

The factors that the court will consider when determining if a spouse is eligible for spousal support are:

  • What is the family income prior to the divorce?
  • Did one spouse stay home to raise the children, while the other one was employed? If so, spousal support will be ordered to help the person who stayed at home get back into the workforce.
  • The length of the marriage. The duration of the marriage determines the duration of the spousal support that is ordered.

In general, spousal support is ordered on an individual basis. The court will look at individual factors and decide if a spouse is entitled to spousal support and if so, what will be the duration of that support.

How Mediation or Collaborative Divorce Assist in Child and Spousal Support Decisions

During either mediation or the collaborative process, the spouses can come up with their own plan for child support and spousal support. The couple can focus on the needs of the other party in addition to their own needs and come to an agreement that works for them both and that they both feel is equitable.

Contact Rosenthal & Markowitz, LLP for More Information

For answers to your questions about child support and spousal support, or for any question concerning your divorce or the divorce process in general, contact our family law attorneys at Rosenthal & Markowitz, LLP. You can reach us at 914.347.1292.

Divorce Questions: How Long Does It Take to Get a Divorce in New York?

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One question almost all divorce clients ask is, “How long will this take?” In New York, there are procedural legal requirements that must be followed that cannot be changed. In addition, how fast the couple themselves come to a settlement agreement influences the length of time it takes to obtain a final divorce order.

Generally, if all goes well, it takes a minimum of one year to a year-and-a-half from the filing of the summons to the date the court signs the final order for divorce.

New York Legal Requirements:
  • There is a residency requirement. In most cases, one of the parties must have resided in New York for at least one year prior to the commencement of the divorce proceedings. There may be an applicable exception.
  • Time for response. If the defendant was served with the summons for divorce within New York state, he or she has 20 days to file a response after receiving the summons. If served outside the state of New York, the party has 30 days to file a response to the summons for divorce.
  • A settlement agreement must be filed with the court. All issues must be settled between the spouses and a settlement agreement filed with the court.
  • The court has 60 days to sign the final judgement of divorce. The clock starts running with the court on the day the settlement agreement is filed, and the court has 60 days from that date to sign the final order of divorce.
Time for Preparing a Settlement Agreement

Often times a couple will say they have resolved all issues in their case and are ready to present their settlement agreement to the court.  However, when the attorneys review the case with the couple, they often find there are loose ends and more issues to be settled.

Divorce in New York

Generally, Mediation and Collaborative Divorce can move the case along faster since a team encourages and assists the couple with coming to settlement terms. A divorce case moves along as fast as the slowest person’s desires.

A Litigated Divorce Will Take Longer

When the couple needs court intervention to resolve their issues, and the case goes to trial, it takes longer. The attorneys can file a Request for Judicial Intervention (RJI) when the process is not moving along as it should. They are bound to comply with the court schedule and obtain court hearing dates.

Contact Rosenthal & Markowitz, LLP

For assistance in moving your case along, and for finalizing your divorce as expeditiously as possible, contact our family law attorneys at Rosenthal & Markowitz, LLP. You can reach us online or by calling 914.347.1292.