July 13, 2023 -   Having very different ideas about the value of your home can create difficulties when you try to sell. Including language in your agreement establishing the lowest offer you will accept can help. It doesn't negate the usual give-and-take you would have with a buyer and will only apply if you don't otherwise agree. Possible problems can arise in the future, so talk about them now while you're in mediation, and can address them together.  If you would like [...]

June 21, 2023 -   If you're talking about jointly owning your home after your divorce, you want to factor into your agreement a lot of detail, including the time or circumstance that will trigger listing your home. You can select a specific date in the future or base the listing upon an event, such as when your youngest has finished the first year of college. If the detail is not in the agreement, and something happens, you could end up in court, and that is what you're trying t [...]

March 7, 2023 -   My last article spoke about how high mortgage interest rates could complicate a buyout in your divorce mediation. In the second article of this series, we explore how a partial buyout might be the answer for the person who is not staying in the home but needs to have some cash right away. There are a couple of options that might allow this to work for your divorce. If you would like more information about mediation, prenups and family law, check out my website [...]

February 22, 2023 - This article is the beginning of a series about the disposition of the marital home for couples with children. When there are no children in the marriage, the usual plan for a divorcing couple is to sell and divide the proceeds. When there are children, one party may buy out the other in order for the children to remain in their school district, but today’s higher interest rates may complicate the buyout and the divorce.If you would like more information about me [...]

November 1, 2022 -   It’s that time of year when ghosts and goblins abound, scaring the kids and sometimes the adults as well. The overall feeling of being scared, anxious and out of control is very similar to how divorcing parents feel, especially when it comes to their children. A Child Specialist can advise you in ways to help combat those emotions. [...]

October 13, 2022 -   In New York, there is a statute that gives a surviving spouse the right to elect against the Will of a deceased spouse, if that Will leaves them with less than the greater of a third of the estate or $50,000. In a prenup, you can waive that Right of Election if circumstances warrant it. Mediation is a good place to talk about your expectations and what would be appropriate to maintain your standard of living. If you would like more information about mediation a [...]

October 14, 2020 - {4 minutes to read} When I’m working with parents and we are discussing what each proposes for a parenting plan, I ask them to phrase their proposal in terms of what is in the child’s best interests, and not necessarily what’s best for them. What does “best interests of the child” actually mean though? If we use the standard of what a judge would consider when making a custody determination in an adversarial proceeding, these are some of th [...]

February 20, 2020 - In this video, the last of the series on Equitable Distribution, we look at the implications of the statute to parties in mediation. It is important for clients to know what the law provides, and what is likely to happen in Court, whether they are in mediation or not. Then, when in mediation, they can make informed decisions as to whether to apply or waive the provisions of Equitable Distribution. [...]

July 10, 2019 - {3:30 minutes to read} In my last video, I promised some creative win/win options that you could take when it came to the division of your home. Since they could be a little complicated and hard to follow, I thought it would be better to present them in a written blog.    Can’t Refinance Right Now Let’s say that you both agree that there will be a buyout and a refinance, but it will take some time for the “buyer” to qualify for a loan [...]

June 19, 2019 -   If you're going through a divorce and you own your home, that home is going to be looked at as an asset to be divided according to the laws of New York. To one or both parties, the marital home often means something more than just a place to live. It represents a sense of continuity and something that is familiar which can lead one or both of them to want to keep it. Would you want a court making this decision for you, or would you prefer an interest-based di [...]

December 5, 2017 - {3:42 minutes to read} I was talking to a colleague recently about a mediation. She was surprised that it took as many meetings as it did to reach a resolution and that the couple almost terminated the process. It was a relatively short-term marriage of a few years, and they had no children, so she had not expected that it would be difficult. I agree that expectations of difficulty are often misleading. At an initial consultation, I can only judge a mediation’s di [...]

August 2, 2017 - {4:24 minutes to read} Nesting is a shared parenting concept that allows the children to stay in the marital home while the parents go back and forth. The idea is that the children will be able to remain in one familiar place, have no concerns about where they are on what day or what they need to take with them. Typically, parents who choose this will be sharing time in the home with the children on an equal basis. To see if this might work for you, consider the followi [...]