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

I previously wrote about a lawyer who was attempting to re-open his divorce settlement because, he claimed, there was a mutual mistake - he retained money invested with Madoff  in lieu of other assets retained by his wife.  Of course, the assets invested with Madoff proved to be worthless.   At that time, I opined (and the trial court agreed) that divorce settlement should not be opened.   I wrote: Had the wife participated with Madoff in the fraud or had knowledge of the wrong-doing, the husband might have a case. But, the husband simply made an unfortunate choice and, through no... More

The custody fight of Christie Brinkley and Peter Cook reared its ugly head again. Last year the case settled after several days of lurid testimony about Peter Cook's affair with a teenage store clerk and revelations that he spent thousands of dollars downloading pornography. Sophia Chang and John Valenti report in Newsday that the in the current dispute: Cook wanted Brinkley found in contempt of court for allegedly failing to deliver their son's passport to his house in November, which, Cook said, caused Jack to miss a school trip to Egypt. In return, Brinkley's attorneys filed a countermotion to hold... More

A finding of emancipation terminates the parental obligation to pay child support. For this reason, the issue is oft litigated. The typical divorce settlement agreement provides that child support will terminate on the happening of an “emancipation event” which is defined by parties’ settlement agreement, but generally includes the child’s death, marriage or entry into the military. Many agreements also provide that a child should be deemed emancipated if the child enters the workforce on a full time employment. However, the Appellate Division, First Department ruled last week that a child’s full time employment alone does not constitute an emancipation... 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