New York Family Law Blog

Some couples in New York may be contemplating getting divorced in the new year. Still, even if a couple chooses to go through divorce, the process does not necessarily have to be hostile. A couple of tips may help a divorcing couple to make their marital breakup as amicable as possible.

First, the two parties will likely be better off trying to work together versus seeking revenue because revenge generally is not important to divorce courts. Sometimes spouses who have been cheated on might submit pictures in court that show that the other party cheated. They might even use private investigators to help them to put together evidence. Still, courts likely will not care about these details unless the cheating spouses damaged the family finances by spending a great deal of money on their affairs.

Divorce is hard no matter what, especially when there are children involved. Negotiating custody, visitation, and support can be a timely and emotional process, which is why it's key that both parties involved put the best interests of their children before everything else. But what happens when someone actually tries to poison their children against their former partner?

When one spouse files for divorce, it often inspires a stressful-and sometimes even hostile-household environment. To resolve this issue, both spouses can work with their individual legal representatives to petition the court for temporary possession of the family home. Unfortunately, New York courts usually only grant temporary occupancy to a single spouse if there is significant proof of "domestic strife." Because some degree of conflict is expected during a divorce, the court is often hesitant to award a single person possession of the marital home unless the other spouse has an alternative residence available. After all, it's difficult to order one spouse to suffer financial difficulties because they have to rent or buy new property.

The Concept of Marital Waste in Property Division

"Marital waste" refers to the intentional dissipation of shared assets by one party for their own benefit. This often occurs when one spouse uses shared finances or other marital property for extravagant vacations, designer clothing, exotic sports cars, and other lavish personal expenditures.