Equitable Distribution in New York
How Marital Property Is Divided in a New York Divorce
When a divorce is granted in New York, the state’s equitable distribution law will guide a determination on property settlement through division of the marital property. This law considers that a marriage is, among other things, an “economic partnership” to which both parties contribute – whether that contribution is made as a spouse, parent, wage earner and/or homemaker.
It is important to understand that equitable distribution does not always result in an equal, 50/50 division of assets; rather, the law will look to what is “fair.” A couple’s property will be categorized as marital or separate, the value of the property will be determined and the property will be distributed in a manner that is hopefully fair and equitable to both parties.
At the present time, property can include:
- Art collections
- Medical degrees / licenses
- Law practices / licenses
- Stock options
- Business interests
- Airplanes
- Equine interests and farms
- Civil service assets
- Pensions, 401(k)s and retirement plans
- Teaching licenses
- Professional certifications
*The law in this area is changing.
The Difference Between Separate Property & Marital Property
Separate property can be described as any property that belongs to one spouse only. The manner in which property is categorized as marital or separate will vary from state to state. It is also important to note that separate property can be considered marital property if it has been co-mingled with marital assets or it has appreciated in value during the marriage due to the efforts of the other spouse.
In New York, separate property may include any of the following:
- Property acquired before the start of the marriage
- Property acquired by bequest, devise or gift from someone other than your spouse
- Property described as separate property in a written agreement
- Property acquired in exchange for separate property
- Financial compensation received for personal injuries
Disclosing Financial Information During Your Divorce
Under New York’s Equitable Distribution law, when seeking a divorce, both parties are required to disclose all information about their respective finances so the court can make a fair determination about the distribution of their marital property – as well as appropriate levels of support. To ensure full disclosure, the law requires both parties to exchange sworn financial statements accompanied by a current paycheck stub and their most recently filed state and federal income tax returns.
If you have questions about how your property would be divided in a divorce, please contact our New York divorce lawyer, Lois M. Brenner, Esq. You can reach our office at (646) 663-4546.
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I am a highly successful money manager and before meeting Lois Brenner, hiring a divorce attorney was a disaster. Two previous divorce attorneys really wasted my funds, and had no savvy when it came to asset and property distribution. Lois Brenner finally fixed the mess I was in. She and her team of financial experts, including attorney Matthew Ehrlich were able to prepare an asset and property distribution that was realistic, keeping in mind tax ramifications, and important distributions and allocations. They negotiated a thorough and financially sound divorce settlement. If you have a lot of assets, just any divorce attorney won’t do. You really need someone with a lot of knowledge. Lois Brenner and Matthew Ehrlich were really impressive. Thanks!!- Michael C.
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We have Lois Brenner to thank for turning our marriage around. We hired Lois as our mediator when we were considering divorce. When we started working with her and she realized we wanted to try to keep our marriage together she suggested a postnuptial agreement to get our marriage back on track. Having the postnuptial agreement made us both accountable when it came to our issues. Having this doc in place is clearly helping us redefine our marriage in a better way. I don’t know if we will never get divorced, but for now we are respecting each others’ boundaries and are aware of the consequences if we don’t! It was really cool that Ms. Brenner suggested this method as an option. Most divorce attorneys would not have suggested a way for us to try to stay together. She is very talented and unusual in the best possible way. If we choose to take the divorce path eventually we will definitely hire her again. In the meantime we are making it work. She is amazing.- Joseph M
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