Property Division Includes Deciding Who Gets What
New York is an equitable division state, according to the New York Courts, and marital property must be divided as equally as possible by a judge. Marital property is anything that was purchased or acquired during the marriage, other than the following:
As such, marital property is essentially everything else: cars, real property such as a house or condominium, furniture, sports equipment, electronics, stocks, pension plans, 401k plans or IRAs, businesses, and even debt. The other type of property that New York recognizes is personal property, which is not divided during divorce. Personal property is anything that each party brought into the marriage, such as real property, bank accounts, IRAs, a car, and debt as well. However, the Uniform Disposition of Community Property Rights at Death Act mandates that property of a couple that is already married, who move from a community property state to New York, remains community property.
In New York, each spouse is held responsible for providing for the other until death or remarriage. This means that the higher-earning spouse may be held accountable for providing alimony payments. However, in New York, the legal terms for alimony are maintenance and spousal support. Spousal support is usually a temporary financial aid given to the lower earning spouse during divorce, though spousal support has no time limit and can remain functioning as long as the marriage still exists. Maintenance is either a temporary or permanent payment to the lower-earning spouse after divorce, and is based on a variety of factors that determine how capable the lower-earning spouse is of becoming financially independent, among other factors.
As much joy as children bring, along with them comes immense cost for food, clothing, education, housing, and much more. It is only fair that the noncustodial parent pay for their child’s upbringing. Child support is a court ordered form of payment from the noncustodial parent to the custodial parent to pay for the normal expenses of raising a child.
The Colwell Law Group, LLC is here to provide experienced legal aid to individuals going through divorce in Saratoga County, with our office in Ballston Spa, NY. Call us today at 518-880-9300 to learn more about our services and what we can do for you during this difficult time in your life.
Learn how to help your kids cope with your divorce with our complimentary guide for parents who are getting divorced or separated in New York.
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