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

The Wall Street Journal in an article written by Mary Pilon detailed some of the reasons couples enter into prenuptial agreements. In the article, I was quoted for having noticed a trend in my practice. In conversations with many of my younger clients, I observed that often they did not want a pre-nuptial agreement to protect assets they had already acquired-often they had yet to acquire anything of value, but instead, to protect their prospective inheritance. In many cases they were being dictated to by their parents and told that they had to obtain a pre-nuptial agreement. In its most... More

The success or lack of success of a marriage is apparently now statistically predictable. Since is it predictable, it may soon be possible to insure a marriage against divorce. MyNewMarkets.com reports that J. Christopher Westland, a professor of information and decision sciences, at the University of Illinois at Chicago, through an analysis of census data, has identified several factors that influence the likelihood of divorce. According to Professor Westland, the factors that put a marriage at risk include: “Age (younger is riskier); race (Asian is the lowest risk); whether a woman had forced premarital sex (a woman who has been... More

There are few certainties in life. However, one of life’s certainties is that all marriages will end, whether by death or divorce. At the end of marriage, whether by divorce or death, disputes over money and the disposition of marital assets may be inevitable. However, a pre-nuptial agreement can help lessen the potential for conflict by clearing identifying the parties separate property and defining the parties’ rights to the marital property. A recent article illustrated why a Pre-Nup may be a smart money move.  1. Why are pre-nuptial agreements beneficial? "One of the common reasons to get a pre-nup is... More

Yesterday, I noted that there seemed to be a rash of cases challenging the validity of prenuptial agreements. Today, I continue my review with a case the sends the message that you had better read and fully understand the agreement before you sign it, particularly if you are “well educated.” Blindly entering into an agreement will not invalidate it. In Stawski v Stawski, the Appellate Division upheld the validity of a prenuptial agreement, written in German and signed by an American citizen, in Germany. At the time of its execution, the wife-to-be did not speak German and was not represented... More

Thank you to the Prenuptial Agreement Blog for including me in the list of Top Family Law Blogs. Speaking of prenuptial agreements, a couple of cases addressing prenuptial agreements have been decided by the Appellate Division in recent weeks. Thus, I begin a series of postings addressing these cases. In the recent case of Selinger v. Selinger, the parties entered into a prenuptial agreement, in which they agreed “to waive any rights in and to the other's separate property, including gifts of land to the other as long as the gift was either evidenced in writing or "such records or... More

The New York Probate Litigation Blog highlights the recently decided case of Estate of Joseph Menaham, in which a widow’s attempt to nullify a pre-nuptial agreement was rejected by the Surrogates’ Court. Prior to marriage, the wife, now a widow, was diagnosed, hospitalized and treated for a bipolar disorder. Following her release, she entered into a pre-nuptial agreement in which the parties each agreed waived their rights to election against the other’s estate. The right of election is a statutory protection which prevents one spouse from dis-inheriting the other. Following her husband’s death, the widow sought to set aside the... More

The Appellate Division in Van Kipnis v. Van Kipnis enforced a pre-nuptial agreement which the parties entered into in France in 1965.  The agreement provided that “Each spouse shall retain ownership and possession of the chattels and real property that he/she may own at this time or may come to own subsequently by any means whatsoever.” Although there is a presumption under New York law that property acquired during the marriage is marital, the Court found that the presumption was overcome by the unambiguous terms of the parties’ agreement and their conduct in keeping their assets separate. As a consequence,... More