My Dad was a big fan of the Eagles. Long after he passed away, I would listen to his old Eagles albums. The 1975 hit “Lyin’ Eyes” took on a new meaning after I began to practice matrimonial and family law and began to regularly have people come into my office and share the most intimate details of their lives, including on occasion, their lyin’ eyes. Dare I sound like a jaded divorce lawyer, but…

In last week’s blog post, we identified and examined what is considered wasteful dissipation. We made the important distinction between positive action taken to dissipate assets (example: gambling with marital assets) and inaction (example: failure to reasonably manage investments). We also identified a non-exhaustive list of eleven (11) factors the court can consider in determining whether wasteful dissipation has occurred. In this week’s post, we consider the effect of a finding of wasteful dissipation on…

A Brief History Regarding Equitable Distribution In 1980 the New York Legislature enacted the Equitable Distribution Law (DRL § 236B) (“EDL”) which required courts to equitably divide marital property based on a consideration of several factors. At the time, the courts had ten (10) factors to consider.[i] Pursuant to the statutory law, courts became tasked with deciding whether marital fault should be considered under what is commonly referred to as the “catchall factor.” Shortly…

Unfortunately, as matrimonial attorneys we often hear many tales of woe, including how one spouse either spent a large sum of money immediately before commencing a divorce action or eliminated their assets to avoid having to give their spouse any piece of the proverbial marital property pie. In legalese, we refer to this as “wasteful dissipation.” In this first installment of a two-part series, we will identify and examine what is considered wasteful dissipation, which…

Domestic Violence is a serious issue that requires awareness each and every month, not only in the month of October. If you or anyone you know is a victim of Domestic Violence below are important resources and organizations which will be able to provide assistance. The Safe Center LI, 516-542-0404 L.I. Against Domestic Violence, 631-666-8833 VIBS, 631-360-3606 Brighter Tomorrows Shelter, 631-395-1800 The Retreat, 631-329-2200 Additional Suffolk County Resources…

The purpose of this article is to provide victims of domestic violence with the necessary information they may need to assist them in seeking in an order of protection in Family Court. While individuals may be granted an order of protection from Criminal Court, this post will only focus on obtaining an order of protection in Family Court. Brief Overview              An order of protection is a document issued by the Family Court which prohibits…

In a highly-connected world of Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Tik Tok, family locators and smart phones, the reality of being tracked with every move you make is all too real.  This is even more real for victims of domestic violence who as part of their safety planning must and should consider technology safety.  The goal of this article is to identify tech safety tips that can help prevent abusers from accessing victim accounts, tracking victim locations,…