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

Much has ado has been made of the pilots being sued by Continental Airlines because they divorced in order to get partial distributions of their pensions. As reported in Freakonomics: Continental Airlines is suing nine of its pilots, reports ABC News, claiming they faked divorces in order to draw down their pension funds before retirement. The airline became suspicious when some of the couples continued living together and all nine couples eventually reunited. Continental believes the pilots became worried about the safety of their pension funds, especially after seeing what’s happening at other airlines. The airline claims that the divorces... More

To the list of things Bernard L. Madoff has been blamed for ruining — retirements, lives, reputations — add another: a clean breakup.” The New York Times is reporting that a husband (a lawyer), who, entered into a settlement agreement distributing marital assets, which included an investment in Madoff’s hedge fund, is seeking contribution from his ex wife for the post-divorce losses sustained in the Ponzi scheme. Rather than splitting an investment in the Madoff hedge fund, the husband gave the wife $2.7 million in cash and held onto the account. Of course, the account is now worthless. The husband... More

In this time of economic turmoil, I anticipate the divorce rate will increase.  When money is available to fund a comfortable lifestyle, spouses are more forgiving of minor transgressions. But, when there is less cash available, it is more difficult of overlook a spouse’s foibles and failings. So, as the marriages begin to unravel, the inclination of some disreputable spouses may be to hide or stash away marital assets. Divorce 360.com offers some tips to Know When your Spouse is Hiding Cash. Some of most common methods of hiding money are:   moving money from a joint account to an individual one; putting... More

Citing a recent New York Times article, Victor Medina in the New Jersey Divorce and Family Law Blog, comments on the rise in the use of post-nuptial agreements, a trend I noted several months ago, here. Mr. Medina gives a great description of what post- nuptial agreements really are: What are “post-nuptial agreements”? Well, unlike pre-nuptial agreements, which deal with parties interested in getting married before they’re actually married, and unlike property settlement agreements, which deal with parties interested in not being married after they’re actually married…post nuptial agreements are intended for a married couple who did not previously enter... More