Long Island Divorce Lawyer

Nobody enters a marriage expecting it to end in divorce, yet for many people, this becomes a reality. The divorce process can be overwhelming, filled with concerns about your children, your financial future, and the uncertainty of what lies ahead. The potential for drawn-out litigation can add even more stress, leaving you wondering where to start and how to protect what matters most.

Fortunately, you do not have to walk this path alone. With the Law Office of Laurence S. Margolin by your side, you can move forward in your divorce proceedings with the confidence you need to close one life chapter and begin another.

What Does it Mean to Divorce?

Divorce is defined simply as the legal termination of a marriage, but the end of a marital union has significant implications. In seeking a divorce, spouses must address a variety of challenging questions, such as how property and debts will be divided and whether alimony will be awarded.

For couples with children, divorce will bring sweeping changes to their lifestyle. Spouses must consider important matters such as who will have physical custody of the children as well as how much child support will be paid and by whom.

Do You Need a Reason to Divorce On Long Island?

Under New York’s no-fault divorce, a party can file for divorce without having to prove fault by alleging that the marriage has broken down irretrievably for a period of at least six months. It is the most commonly used ground for divorce because it does not require proving fault or assigning blame, which can be emotionally and financially draining. Before no-fault divorce was introduced in New York in 2010, fault-based grounds were the only way to get a divorce. These grounds are still available today, though they are not commonly used (e.g., adultery, cruelty, abandonment, imprisonment, divorce following a legal separation agreement, and living apart for one year).

Breaking Down Divorce Types: Contested Vs. Uncontested Divorce

A divorce may be contested or uncontested. In a contested divorce, the spouses are unable to work out at least one issue between them, including, but not limited to child custody, alimony, setting a parenting schedule, equitable distribution of: real property, personal property, bank accounts, retirement accounts, investment accounts, foreign assets, determining the valuation of businesses, determining/imputing the earnings of the parties, asking the Court to order the monied spouse pay an amount of the non-monied parties’ counsel fees, sharing expenses for the children, separate property credits, and other issues.

A divorce lawyer will then prepare what is called a “Stipulation of Settlement”, which needs to be signed by both spouses and filed with the court together with a divorce package of required documents, including a “Judgment of Divorce”. The court will review the filed documents, and when they are approved, the judge will sign and enter the Judgment of Divorce, Findings of Fact, and Conclusions of Law, and if there are children, Qualified Medical Child Support Order.

Contested divorces are contested because the spouses have not yet agreed on how to resolve the divorce. Everything listed above for an uncontested divorce applies, however, the parties will proceed through all stages of a divorce until they sign a settlement agreement. A contested divorce includes extensive litigation, numerous court proceedings, the use of formal discovery, and possibly motion practice if a spouse needs immediate relief with a Court order. It can take over a year or more, and will be more costly when compared to an uncontested divorce.

Understanding the Divorce Process On Long Island

The process for both a contested and an uncontested divorce involves at least the following steps:

1. Determine Whether You Meet the Residency Requirement: One spouse must reside in New York for at least two years before filing divorce papers (or one year if the spouses were married in New York, or both spouses lived in NY State as a married couple, or the divorce grounds arose in New York). If the foregoing elements are satisfied, a spouse can commence a divorce action in New York.
2. File the Divorce Paperwork and Pay All Fees: The plaintiff spouse must file a summons with notice of an action for divorce, notice of automatic orders, and notice of guideline maintenance, Upon payment of the filing fee (currently $210), the spouse obtains a case index number. The spouse will also file a verified complaint that sets forth the grounds for the divorce.
3. Serve Divorce Papers on the Defendant spouse: New York divorce law requires that an adult (but not the plaintiff spouse) serve the defendant spouse personally with the court papers. Typically, a licensed process server is retained to personally serve the defendant spouse. After accomplishing this, the plaintiff will file an affidavit of service with the court.
4. Wait for the Defendant spouse to Respond: After the defendant spouse is served, within 20 days from service, the defendant spouse should have retained counsel and served and filed an “Answer to the Complaint” with or without a counterclaim. A counterclaim is the defendant spouse asking for a divorce. If you are the defendant, it’s important to work with a Long Island divorce attorney to respond to the divorce complaint. You will serve and file an answer and affidavit of service. If the defendant spouse fails to answer, they will have defaulted, which allows the plaintiff spouse to move to the next step.
5. Default: If the defendant spouse does not file an answer within 20 days of service, the plaintiff spouse can file a motion requesting a default judgment of divorce on all the marital issues as requested in the complaint.
6. Communicate and attempt an uncontested divorce: Counsel for both parties should speak and try to agree to exchange a “Statement of Net Worth” and financial statements, which are needed to list and verify the earnings, assets, and debts of the parties, for settlement purposes. If there is cooperation the parties may be able to work out settlement terms without having to engage in costly litigation. Should the parties agree to the terms and sign a Stipulation of Settlement, it would be an uncontested divorce.
7. Calendar the Divorce: If an uncontested divorce is not yet possible, one of the parties will pay the fee and file a “Request for Judicial Intervention” for a judge to be assigned to the case and file a “Request for a Preliminary Conference” for contested divorce. A judge will be assigned and a notice and order is sent with the date for the first court appearance – the “Preliminary Conference” (PC).
8. Preliminary Conference: Prior to the Preliminary Conference, lawyers on both sides prepare a Preliminary Conference Stipulation which lists a schedule of dates by which both parties must serve and respond to various legal and financial disclosures including discovery notices, exchanging financial documents, scheduling financial evaluations of a home by appraisal, a business by a forensic evaluation professional, or valuing other assets. Counsel and all parties sign the stipulation, which is so ordered by the judge at the conference.
9. Court Conferences: After the Preliminary Conference, the court will schedule a conference date at which time all parties and counsel will meet with the judge or court attorney to discuss if the parties have complied with the PC order and any issues in the divorce.
10. OSC for pendente lite emergency relief needed: A spouse may file for pendente lite relief should they need to ask the court to order the other spouse to comply with the court’s orders when they have not done so. For example, the other spouse does not turn over financial documents, discovery responses, file a Statement of Net Worth, removes a child from the state without the other parent’s permission or permission of the court, problems with the children or parenting time, does not pay bills for the family home or children.
11. Settling a Divorce: After the parties agree to all issues in the divorce, counsel works out the terms of a Stipulation of Settlement, then the parties sign it and file it with the court. The court will schedule a conference to allocate the Stipulation and issue a 60-day order requiring the parties to file the package of required court documents including the Judgment of Divorce within 60 days. After the divorce package is filed, the court, after reviewing the divorce documents, will issue its judgment. The terms of the divorce are memorialized as an enforceable order and the spouses are legally divorced.

Key Considerations in a Divorce

As mentioned previously, divorce is much more than just the end of a marriage. Either on their own or with the judge’s intervention, the spouses must resolve matters relating to:

Child Custody, Visitation, and Co-Parenting: Custody includes both physical custody (how the child will split time with both parents during the week, holidays, special events, summers, and vacation time) and legal custody (how major decisions affecting the child’s education, healthcare, religious upbringing, and other significant issues will be made, and working out the process to make decisions where the two parents do not agree).

Child Support: Under the Child Support Standards Act (CSSA), a Divorce Judge or Child Support Magistrate typically uses a formula to determine the amount of child support that should be paid by a noncustodial parent. Child support consists of two distinct elements: (a) a regular periodic payment, or basic child support obligation, and (b) contribution towards add-on expenses, which are additional items not encompassed in the regular basic child support payment: (1) unreimbursed medical expenses; and (2) the cost of necessary child care expenses.

Spousal Maintenance, also known as Alimony: A court can grant temporary alimony or permanent alimony. Temporary alimony helps the spouse make ends meet while the divorce is pending. This support is provided for the duration of the divorce process, from the time of filing until the divorce is finalized. Once the divorce is finalized, temporary alimony ends, and the court may order a different arrangement for post-divorce support.

Permanent alimony continues after the divorce is final and can be awarded either for a fixed period (based upon the length of the marriage) or for indefinite durations depending on the circumstances. It may end upon the recipient spouse’s remarriage or cohabitation with a partner if they are living as spouses or death. The court will take numerous factors into consideration such as the income levels and earning capacities of both spouses, the presence of children in the house, the respective resources of the parties, the ability to be self-supporting, as well as the health, age, and each spouse’s contributions to the marriage.

Marital property and debt division: New York is an equitable distribution state, which means marital assets and liabilities are split between the spouses in a fair (not necessarily equal) manner.

Do I Need a Lawyer to Get Divorced On Long Island?

While you’re not required to have an attorney assist with your divorce, it’s strongly recommended. Our knowledgeable divorce lawyer can assist by:

• Leveraging our legal experience in your favor: Understanding Long Island’s divorce and family laws is essential if you wish to protect your best interests. But there are also other rules like those concerning civil procedure, discovery, and evidence. If you do not understand these, you could jeopardize your case.
• Handling all paperwork and communications: We draft, file, and serve all necessary court documents, and respond as needed to your spouse’s filings. We speak and advocate for you so you get what you are legally entitled to get in the divorce. Our firm also manages all communications with the court and your spouse’s lawyer. Regardless of which side of the divorce you are on, we are ready to represent you.
• Weighing your legal options: We can review your circumstances and advise you of the various options you have and help make decisions together on the best way to proceed. For example, we have experience in handling executive divorce, high net-worth divorce, grey divorce, and non-traditional family divorce, all of which require different strategies.
• Representing you in all related family law issues: Whether for child custody, child support, alimony, or retirement accounts, we have your divorce covered. We understand what is at stake in your case and will advocate for your rights and interests each step of the way.
• Negotiating for a settlement agreement: We will negotiate with your spouse’s divorce attorney to try to reach an out-of-court settlement. This may include scheduling mediation through a court program if we believe it might be helpful, or a four-way conference. We will advise you of your rights and options concerning proposed divorce agreements.
• Taking your case to court: Although we work to settle divorces, we know this is not always possible. In many cases the other spouse or his or her counsel take unreasonable positions, do not follow court schedules or orders, or wish to drag out the divorce for many possible reasons including where the spouse wishes to delay the day when he or she has to start paying child support, spousal maintenance, dividing the retirement funds, moving out of the marital home, one party buying out the other party’s interest in the marital home or selling the marital home.

Long Island Divorce Lawyer: FAQs

How Long Does Divorce Take On Long Island?

The answer depends on whether the divorce is contested or not. An uncontested divorce may take as little as three to six months to finalize. On the other hand, a contested divorce often takes over a year. We believe it is in your best interest to work out a global settlement sooner than later. Not only will your total counsel fees be less, but you will also end the stress, time, and aggravation of a long divorce and put this chapter of your life behind you.

How Much Does a Divorce Cost?

Both parties pay counsel for the counsel’s time as is set forth in the retainer agreement. The client will be responsible for all court filing and recording fees and expenses which typically include: the index number fee of $210, service of the pleadings by process server of approximately $150 to $200, recording of the Stipulation of Settlement fee of $35, Request for Judicial Intervention fee (assigning a judge to the case) of $95, and Note of Issue fee of $30. It is in everyone’s best interest to work out a fair settlement and let the attorneys draft the required paperwork as an uncontested divorce. Until everyone is ready to work out their issues, the parties continue to pay counsel to do the work needed to get you divorced.

How Do I Find the Best Divorce Lawyer Near Me?

You deserve an attorney who understands Long Island divorce law, is responsive to your questions and concerns, and is dedicated to achieving the best possible outcome. Nothing speaks more forcefully about an attorney’s skill than results, so learn more about how our law firm serves the needs of Long Island divorce clients.

Get Help From An Experienced Divorce Lawyer On Long Island

If a divorce is on your horizon, it’s time to get serious about securing your and your family’s future. Find out why so many clients trust the seasoned legal counsel that the Law Office of Laurence S. Margolin provides. We can explain our approach to divorce law and how we can develop a personalized strategy to serve you. Reach out to us today to get started.