New York Divorce Report - New York's Divorce and Family Law Blog

Pamela Paul, in her New York Times article, The Un-Divorced, discusses the trend of couples separating, but not divorcing.   The primary reasons that parties remain married, but separated are the practical and financial, not familial. The effect of endless separations on the children rarely seems a priority. Perhaps the principle reason couples remain legally wed is to maintain or continue health care coverage.    When a couple divorces, the ex-spouse is no longer to eligible to be covered through the other’s medical coverage.   The former spouse either may maintain the existing policy under COBRA or purchase a policy on his/her own. ... More

As the economy continues to falter, there are reports of a couple of distinct trends in family law cases: many couples are putting off their divorces and, if the couples are going forward with their divorces, they doing so without legal representation. NBC News is reporting that “more distressed couples are putting off divorce because the cost of splitting up is prohibitive in a time of stagnant salaries, plummeting home values and rising unemployment.” In more prosperous times, the marital home was the largest asset to be distributed. When it was sold, the proceeds used to be enough to allow... More

Janet Langjahr in her Florida based divorce and family law blog, reports that money does not equate with happiness in marriage. Citing an article, The Rich and Unfaithful, in Forbes, she says that the wealthy are no happier in their marriages than the not as well off. About half of wealthy people describe themselves as unhappy in their marriages, and just as many admit to cheating on their spouses in the last three years. (Interestingly, more women than men owned up to affairs.) Somewhat ironically, the excuse cited for unfaithfulness was desire for variety. Although half of the affluent were... More

Postings in two divorce and family law blogs highlight a growing conflict between the states on how to deal with a parties continuing obligation to pay alimony or maintenance, as it called in New York, if the former spouse enters into a domestic partnership. To frame the issue, what happens if you are obligated to pay maintenance to your ex, but your ex rather than  re-marrying, enters into a domestic partnership? A number of states have enacted civil union or domestic partnership statutes which grant same sex couples some, but not all, of the rights and privileges of marriage. Maintenance... More