In its April 10th decision in Angello v. Angello, the Third Department upheld the trial determination that a wife’s refusal to approve a mid-action sale of the husband’s insolvent business constituted a wasteful dissipation of the largest marital asset. Such warranted saddling the wife with half of the business’s debts. It also, in part,
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Premarital Pension Credits Purchased with Marital Funds are Marital Property, But …
By Neil Cahn
In its October 22, 2024, decision in Szypula v. Szypula, the Court of Appeals held that if marital funds are used to purchase premarital pension service credits, those premarital credits are marital property. But …
Mr. Szypula joined the Navy nine years before the parties married. He left the Navy two years later. The…
Email Scammers Are Getting More Clever — Let’s Be Careful Out There!
By Neil Cahn
A foreign citizen wants to enter a contract to sell some goods. They would like to retain you to complete the transaction and collect the monies to be paid by the local buyer. Hundreds of thousands of dollars are involved.
I suspect that by now, every attorney has received this basic email scam (or any…
Including “Including” in Agreements
By Neil Cahn
Under the parties’ divorce settlement agreement, the parents were not obligated to share their daughter’s sorority costs whether those costs were viewed as a college expenses or as extracurricular expenses. So held Nassau County Family Court Support Magistrate Sondra M. Toscano in her July 7th decision in Matter of C.A.B. v. D.S.B.
There, the parties’…
Apportioning a Child’s Pre- and Post-Divorce Action Commencement Private College Expenses
By Neil Cahn
In his June 13th decision in E.J. v. M.J., Nassau County Supreme Court Justice Edmund M. Dane resolved the complex financial issues arising when a divorce action is commenced after a child begins attending a private university, but before the child turns 21 or graduates. The fact pattern presents a blend of Equitable Distribution…
No Closed Courtroom in Action to Invalidate Husband’s Billion-Dollar Trusts
By Neil Cahn
A wife commenced a New York County action to set aside three trusts created by her husband. The wife alleged that the trusts were created in an effort to ensure that the wife would be deprived of her fair and equitable share of assets in the event of a divorce. In fact, the husband had…
Despite Son Relocating to Live with Dad, Mom Still Entitled to Child Support Absent Parenting Stipulation Modification
By Neil Cahn
In its decision this month in Vaysburd v. Vaysburd, the Appellate Division Second Department reminded us that once a parenting stipulation or order is entered, child support will not be affected until the stipulation or order is modified. This is true, even if the support award is made in the same divorce action in…
Lessons to be learned from the De Niro/Hightower divorce and prenuptial agreement
By Neil Cahn
For 13 years, Mr. De Niro and Ms. Hightower failed to account annually for their commingled separate and marital property when making investments or acquiring assets as required by their 2004 Prenuptial Agreement (PNA). In effect, the decisions in their 2018 divorce action have now interpreted this annual accounting requirement as an agreement to forever…
The effect of divorce settlement agreements on child support modification proceedings
By Neil Cahn
What is the significance in a divorce settlement agreement of the parents’ decision to apply the child support formula to all of the parents’ income in excess of the statutory “cap?” How will such an agreement affect a subsequent modification proceeding?
Such was the issue addressed in last week’s decision of the Appellate Division, Second…
Court authorizes change of name and gender-neutral designation on NY and Georgia identification
By Neil Cahn
The petitioner, a resident of Bronx County who was born in the State of Georgia, asked the Court for orders reflecting “their” name and sex designation changes, on petitioner’s New York identification, as well as on their Georgia birth certificate.
In his July 19, 2022, decision in Matter of N.K., New York City Civil…