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

There has been much ado about the effects of the economy on divorce. Those who need to sell the marital home to fund their fresh start may now feel imprisoned in their marriage. With greater frequency, those unable to sell their home are forced to continue to cohabit with their spouse. The Daily News featured a story about when a couple cannot afford to separate for which I was interviewed. Follow the link to read the article.  ... More

Last week’s article in the NY Times about how difficult divorce has become as a result of the housing crisis has stirred up quite a bit of debate. The Times notes that: In a normal economy, couples typically build equity in their homes, then divide that equity in a divorce, either after selling the house or with one partner buying out the other’s share. But after the recent boom-and-bust cycle, more couples own houses that neither spouse can afford to maintain, and that they cannot sell for what they owe. For couples already under stress, the family home has become... More

Time Magazine questions, Will the Economy Kill Your Marriage? A couple of weeks ago, I noted that as the economy worsened, my practice became busier. Time seems to confirm my observations and even offers some possible explanations for this phenomenon: There's the lawyer theory, that money provides the soft fatty tissue that insulates the marital skeleton; once it's cut back and people get a good look at the guts of their relationship, they want out. And there's the marriage-counselor theory, that couples who were never quite on the same page in the checkbook finally get pushed off the ledger by... More

I was featured in an article on Forbes.com about divorce during the recession. Quoting Billy Joel’s lyric, “They started to fight when the money got tight. . .” I have definitely noticed an increase in work, telephone inquiries about divorce and even traffic to this blog as the economy soured. My experience, according to the article quite explainable . “Recession has always been a factor raising divorce rates," explains University of Chicago Business School economist Gary Becker." .    ... More

As part of a divorce, the marital home is generally sold. But, in view of the slow down in the home sales market, it is possible that the proceeds from the sale of a home may be insufficient to fully pay off the mortgages on the property. In a prior post, I explored the option of retaining possession of the martial home to avoid selling at a loss. For some, this is simply not an option and the home must be sold. Most couples cannot or simply do not want to continue living together after a divorce. Many cannot afford... More

They started to the fight When the money got tight . . .                 Billy Joel, Scenes from an Italian Restaurant With all the talk about recession and the fall-out from the sub-prime mortgage crisis, it is no surprise the telephones in most divorce lawyers’ offices are ringing off the hook. I have even noticed that the numbers of readers of this blog has dramatically increased in the last several months. Jeffrey Lalloway in the California Divorce and Family Law blog notes: The sharp downturn in the market is taking a similarly painful toll on couples who are breaking up.... More