Law Office of Randy H. Gugino

According to New York State law, marital assets are divided in a manner that is equitable, but not necessarily equal. Typically, any property acquired before the marriage is considered separate property, and any property acquired during the marriage is subject to equitable distribution unless it can be show to have be acquired by use of assets that existed prior to the marriage, or are a result of a gift or inheritance during the marriage.

Sure, you can. But you shouldn’t. It doesn’t help you at all to vent in public especially not in a way that’s “permanent” and subject to shares and screenshots – no matter how many “likes” you get. The things you post on social media could exacerbate the situation with your spouse, damaging negotiations and making your divorce longer and more expensive. Your posts could even work against you in a court room. The worst cost could be to your children. Any negative information about a parent is damaging to a child, even if that information is coming from the other parent; and your social media posts make your children’s personal affairs a matter of public gossip. Just keep it to yourself, or confide to a trusted friend.

It’s generally not a good idea to open up a new bank account during a divorce. Usually a summons includes a status quo order, meaning that parties must maintain their current financial situation. You cannot sell major assets, make major investments, change healthcare or life insurance policies, open new bank accounts, or even radically change household expenses.

Most divorcing spouses manage to settle the terms of their divorce in mediation, and do not need to go to litigation before a judge. In fact, in some situations it isn’t necessary for either party to go to court. The parties could negotiate a property settlement agreement outside of court and have their attorneys submit the necessary documentation.

You don’t need a separation agreement to get a divorce in New York. If you have very few assets and no children, you might be able to draw up a short stipulation and have that entered into the judgment of divorce. If you anticipate significant wrangling over assets, however, you will need to reach an agreement, or else turn all decisions over to a judge.

Aside from the eventual division of assets, the cost of your divorce will be your attorney’s retainer. This will vary, and is determined by the complexity of the case. You could incur additional costs if your case drags on, and if you have to involve other professionals like paralegals, doctors, psychologists, or forensic accountants. If you aren’t the moneyed party, you might be able to get your spouse to contribute toward your attorney’s fees through a court order. A judge might order direct payments, or might take a shared asset, liquidate it, and reserve that for attorney’s fees.

If you are selling your house and you have a mortgage or you have equity loan, you will have to provide that information to our office at the onset of the sale. Our office will send you a seller’s information letter, and the letter will inform you which financial documentation we require, such as the name of the mortgage company, the account number, and the property’s address. We ask you to provide us with the last statement that you have received from the mortgage or home equity loan company, which will contain all of the above information. When the deal is about to close, our office will contact the lender and the home equity company to make certain that we get pay-off statements. Those pay-off statements are going to set for the amount due, and we will calculate the interest so that we are able to pay off the mortgage. Once the mortgage is paid in full, within 30 days, the mortgage company will issue a satisfaction, or a discharge of mortgage, which we file in the local county clerk’s office. We will then follow up with the buyer’s attorney to make certain that this information is shared.

An “easy,” or uncontentious divorce in New York could be over in two to three months. A difficult, contentious, and litigated divorce could take over a year. It’s not possible for an attorney to predict the length of your case until well into the process, but you can sit down with your attorney, go over the details of your case, including assets, children, and the condition of your relationship with your spouse, and make educated guesses as to issues that could make yours a longer process. In general, the length of your divorce case will depend on your ability to come to an agreement with your spouse.

Thanks for reaching our Corrine. Give our office a call, we will be happy discuss the options that are available.