Impact of the New Federal Tax Law on Maintenance

Changes to the Federal Tax Code have repealed the tax deduction for maintenance. Matrimonial law in New York State typically is legislated in Albany.  However, this year the biggest change in matrimonial law comes from Washington, D.C.  The 2017 “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” includes among its 186 pages a section entitled “Repeal of Deduction [Read More]

By |2019-01-08T18:30:10-05:00January 8th, 2019|Agreements, Divorce, Support|

The Impact of The New Tax Law on Divorces Part 1: Collecting More Income Tax

Matrimonial law in New York State typically is legislated in Albany.  However, this year the biggest change in matrimonial law comes from Washington, D.C.  The 2017 “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” includes among its 186 pages a section entitled “Repeal of Deduction for Alimony Payments.” This section eliminates the IRS Code provisions that allowed the [Read More]

By |2018-12-13T09:50:59-05:00December 13th, 2018|Divorce, Support|

Modification of a Custody Order: Part 12- Quality of Interaction Between Parent and Child

In making a determination of a modification of custody a court must consider the quality of the interaction between the parent and the child or children.  This means that primary among the circumstances to be considered in determining the best interests of the child are the parents’ ability to provide for the child's emotional and [Read More]

By |2017-10-19T13:35:14-04:00October 19th, 2017|Custody, Divorce|

Modification of a Custody Order: Part 10- Home Environment and Childcare

As I wrote back in Part 4 of this series, a best interests analysis generally involves the examination of several factors.  These include the relative fitness, stability, past performance, and home environment of the parents, as well as their ability to guide and nurture the child and foster a relationship with the other parent.  After [Read More]

By |2017-06-22T08:02:44-04:00June 22nd, 2017|Custody, Divorce|

Modification of a Custody Order: Part 5- Willingness to Foster a Relationship with the Other Parent

Particularly relevant to a best interests analysis when modifying a custody order is each parent's past performance and their willingness to foster a healthy relationship between the child and the other parent. For example, in one recent case, the court awarded custody to the parent whom it found to be a “consistently positive parent” who [Read More]

By |2017-04-10T18:04:33-04:00April 10th, 2017|Divorce|
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