4 Issues That Make Divorce More Complex on Long Island
Getting a divorce on Long Island can be an emotionally and financially devastating experience. If your divorce becomes complicated, it can drain you of time, energy, and financial and emotional resources. This can make it even more difficult to recover after the divorce is finalized, especially if you have a limited stream of income once you’re single.
Here are some of the top issues that will complicate the dissolution of your marriage and how you can get legal support from an experienced New York family lawyer.
#1 Divorce Complication: Children
Having children while married, while perhaps one of the most rewarding experiences of your life, also easily becomes one of the most complicated aspects of a divorce. In divorce, you and your spouse must reach an agreement on child custody and visitation arrangements. This can become a very contentious issue between separating spouses. If you and your partner cannot come to an agreement a New York family court will make the decision for you. These arrangements may be inconvenient or difficult for you to accommodate.
Additionally, child support must be calculated, ordered, and potentially even enforced. While you may briefly consider a DIY divorce if you are married without children, this is absolutely not in your best interest if you and your spouse have children together. It’s also not in the best interests of your children.
#2. Divorce Complication: Owning Property
If you and your spouse acquire property together during your marriage, or you owned separate property prior to the marriage, this will need to be distributed during your divorce according to New York’s equitable distribution laws. Equitable distribution ensures that both parties receive distributed assets fairly, although this does not necessarily mean that they will be distributed equally.
For example, instead of allowing one spouse to keep the family home, a judge may decide it’s fairer to both parties to force the sale of the home and have the parties split the proceeds in half. Or they may decide the reverse. A judge may determine that the best interests of the children are served by staying in the family home, so they may award other property or assets of roughly equal value to the other spouse. Any time property needs to be divided during a divorce, the case becomes inherently more complex. The case becomes further complicated the more property there is to distribute between two spouses. And finally, the divorce becomes further complicated if you and your spouse cannot agree on how to divide the assets (and debts).
#3. Divorce Complication: Qualifying for Alimony
If one spouse earned more than the other during your marriage while the other spouse gave up certain opportunities for them to do so, you may qualify for or be required to pay alimony or spousal support. This is also called spousal support or spousal maintenance. The process tends to draw out the overall time and expense of getting a divorce, which can be particularly challenging when other complicating factors are involved. No matter which end of the equation you’re on, the outcome of this part of your divorce plays a significant role in your financial future after your divorce is finalized and you’re trying to move on with your life.
#4. Divorce Complication: Domestic Violence Allegations
Allegations of domestic violence, whether true or not, will add another problematic layer to your divorce, whether you are the victim or the alleged perpetrator. If you are a victim, you will need to provide as much evidence of the abuse as possible, including phone messages, texts, witness statements, medical records, and anything else you have to corroborate your allegations.
If you are being accused of domestic violence, you will need to refute the claims against you by exposing your spouse’s vindictive motivation. If you have any evidence that your spouse planned to make false accusations of domestic abuse against you, such as threatening texts or voicemails, these may be used in your defense.
When to Contact a Long Island Divorce Lawyer for Help
If you’re thinking about getting a divorce, or your spouse has informed you they want a divorce, you need to obtain qualified legal guidance as quickly as possible. Very few divorces actually end up being cut and dry, even if both spouses expected an easy divorce going into the process. At Hornberger Verbitsky, P.C., we have the skills and expertise to represent you during the dissolution of your marriage or during child custody and child or spousal support case negotiations. Contact us today for more information or to book a consultation by dialing 631-923-1910 or fill out the short form on this page.
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