Under their 2013 mediated divorce settlement agreement, these ex-spouses agreed to continue to jointly own and operate their distribution business. The agreement reported that their “solid working relationship with a high level of trust in one another’s skills” made “co-ownership a viable solution.” The ex-husband was to receive 30% of the joint business’s profit going forward, and the ex-wife would retain the remaining 70%. Five years later, the ex-wife commenced this action alleging that after…

Appreciation. Innovation. Frustration. All can be heard in New York County Supreme Court Justice Matthew Cooper’s May 18, 2020 decision in Chu v. Lin, dealing with parenting and marital residence issues in an ongoing divorce action. Justice Cooper begins with praise of the New York court system’s stepping up to adapt and press on during the COVID-19 pandemic. Indeed, it may “its finest hour.” At the same time, he bemoans the inadequacy of…

Four recent decisions address the issue of whether “stay at home” orders and the generalized pandemic threat are sufficient to deprive a child of regular and meaningful personal contact with both parents. No, held Bronx County Family Court Judge Ariel D. Chesler on May 7, 2020 in Matter of S.V. v. A.J. A generalized fear of the coronavirus crisis we all face is insufficient to severely limit and perhaps harm a child’s relationship with a…

Please indulge me; it’s one of my pet issues. And I apologize in advance for what may be my most boring blog post to date. Writing math narratively is very difficult. When drafting a divorce settlement agreement, I try to include examples whenever formulas are written out. When reading decisions, I often draw a flow chart to help me follow the calculations. Calculations done by the court establish rules of law. When an appellate court…

Once again, a Justice Dollinger opinion, here in Messsinger v. Messinger decided on February 11, 2020, reveals his efforts to dive into the minds of the litigants to work things out. Under the parties’ 2014 divorce settlement agreement, the father had agreed to finance the son’s college education, except for a $6,000 loan and with a SUNY cap. In exchange, the mother had waived child support for the son while in college, receiving support only…

Under appropriate circumstances, post-divorce spousal support may last much longer than the marriage itself. So held the Appellate Division, Second Department, in its September 2019 decision in Murphy v. Murphy. The parties were married in 2004. They had no children together. Prior to the marriage, the wife was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. In 2013, after 8½ years of marriage, the wife commenced this action for a divorce. After three years, the parties were able…

A breach by one ex-spouse of a divorce settlement stipulation may or may not excuse a breach by the other. The obligations of the parties may or may not be independent. In its July, 2019 decision in Lainez v. Orellana, the Appellate Division, Second Department, held that the answer could be found the clear and unambiguous language of the stipulation. The parties could have made the obligations interdependent; they did not. The obligations, then,…