DIVORCE
Experienced Divorce Attorney in New York
Divorce is one thing that many people never imagined for themselves. So, when marital problems lead you to the prospect of divorce, the situation can feel especially overwhelming. Most people experience a flood of emotions from hurt, anger and despair to defensiveness and distrust. It can be difficult to know what to do or where to turn.
At the Law Office of Thomas V. Sassone, P.C., God is at the center of our practice. We provide legal services to people of all faiths, but a great majority of our clients are Christians who want legal advice that is in line with their spiritual beliefs. We offer Christian-based legal counsel that helps you weigh the facts of your situation against the law, ethics and your spiritual beliefs.
Together, we can determine which course of action to take. We will guide you through the divorce process, helping you to achieve the best possible results as easily, cost-effectively and amicably as possible. We assist in a wide range of divorce-related matters from dissolution of the marriage to divisions of the assets to custody, visitation and support.
The Divorce Process
Property division in divorce
Child custody and Support
Spousal Support/maintenance (often called alimony)
The Divorce Process
Property division in divorce
Child custody and support
Spousal support/maintenance (often called alimony)
Keeping the family unit in mind is critical.
We often ask our clients to keep in mind that people who divorce will need to work with each other for many years to come. This is especially true when the parties have children. They may need to coordinate parenting on a daily basis and, even with older children, are likely to be present together at graduations, birthdays, weddings, the births of grandchildren and other events. With that in mind, we take a holistic approach considering the rest of your life now rather than just focusing on the narrow legal issues. We will guide you through the process in a way that both protects your legal interests and minimizes the family social and spiritual impact.
Accordingly, a "scorched earth" approach with extensive fighting and trial time, is never the right approach. We discourage our clients from vengeful acts and help them make the right decisions — even when those decisions are difficult. At the same time, we are highly focused on protecting our clients' interests. We act to prevent harm and protect you financially, emotionally and spiritually. We do whatever it takes within the bounds of the law and ethics to do so.
Often, clients some to us as a first step when martial problems occur. We ask our clients to keep in mind that divorce may not be their only option. Marital counseling may help resolve the issues without having to resort to divorce. We offer licensed faith-based marriage counseling (usually free of charge) through our association with various religious organizations. We have seen success in this area. Faith-based counseling seeks to get to the root issues and change the heart, not just change behavior. While you may like your spouse to treat you differently, without a true change of heart there will be no joy in the marriage. A thief in jail stops stealing but he is still a thief at heart.
Legal separation may also work for you. Legal separation allows a “cooling off period” between the parties whereby they may reflect upon their marriage and seek to resolve issues in a way that will allow them to reconcile. There are legal and spiritual issues. While some faiths endorse legal separation for their members, other do not. We are familiar with both aspects and can guide you accordingly.
Each divorce has at least two issues. The first is the status of marriage: whether the couple should be married or divorced. This issue is separate and apart from the second, the personal issues. These are finances, child support, division of property and maintenance.
At the Law Office of Thomas V. Sassone, P.C., we can help you resolve these issues by guiding you through the divorce process. Each divorce is unique, but your process might run like the divorce timeline below. At the end a judgment is entered. The judgment outlines the terms of your divorce.
Typical Divorce Process
- Cases commence with filing of summons, which starts the case.
- Parties exchange "statements of financial information". This is a legal requirement in most situations and the most important document in the case.
- The attorneys usually begin to discuss settlement of the matter at this time.
- If the parties can come to a full settlement of the case, the attorneys will draft the proper legal documents to complete the case. The case will be submitted to the Court for approval and no one will have to go to court.
- If settlement cannot be reached at this time, the case may be submitted to the Court for the matter to move forward.
- If the case goes to Court, your appearance in Court will be required. The Judge will set a series of dates within which various procedural aspects of the case must be completed.
- Often, temporary orders are made regarding child custody and visitation, child support and spousal support /temporary maintenance while the case is pending.
- Most cases settle at this point, often with the help of the Court. However, some continue to proceed towards trial
- Once again, if the case is not settled, the discovery process begins, in which other types of information (mostly financial) are exchanged. Discovery can include trading tax records, pay stubs and appraisals. In some cases, attorneys work with professionals who can evaluate the information and locate hidden assets.
- Determinations are made regarding certain key issues: child custody and visitation, child support, property division and, sometimes, spousal support/maintenance (often incorrectly known as alimony).
- After the discovery process is complete, the Court will seek a settlement conference to see if the parties can come to an agreement on the issues without the need for trial.
- During the settlement process the parties will attempt to negotiate the final terms of the divorce. The Court can be of assistance in this process. Some matters may be resolved by papers to Court in order to minimize the amount of time you spend in court.
- Again, if the parties settle the matter, the attorney will draft the necessary final papers for the Court’s approval.
- If the case cannot be settled, either a trial will be had on the outstanding issues or the parties may agree to have the Court make a decision based upon papers submitted by the attorneys.
We fully recognize that this is one of the most terrible and stressful times of your life and we want to minimize the stress and pain. Therefore, we diligently seek to resolve all matters by settlement at every stage of the process and whenever possible. However, the decision to settle is not up to us, it is up to you. As we work for you, will always be in control of your case.
In a divorce, property--both real and personal, business or investment assets, pension and retirement assets--is either considered to be the property of both parties (marital) or the property of only one of the parties (separate). Typically, any property acquired during the marriage is considered marital property and equitably divided between the parties. Property acquired before the marriage, by inheritance or by gift to only one spouse is usually considered separate property and is not divided.
New York State recognizes equitable distribution of marital property in a divorce. While equitable is often 50/50, it is not necessarily equal. Equitable division is fair division of all the property and debts of a marriage — taking into account the situation.
This can be a complex endeavor, especially when divorcing couples own sophisticated property and real estate. At the Law Office of Thomas V. Sassone, P.C., we are well prepared for the challenge. Located in New City, New York, we help our clients divide marital property, including complex property:
- Businesses
- Professional licenses
- Real estate
- Investment assets
- Pensions and 401(k)s
- Personal property
New York State recognizes two different types of custody: physical custody and legal custody. Physical custody is the authority to spend time with the child. Legal custody is the authority to make decisions for the child. These decisions pertain to education, health care, religion and other important matters.
At the Law Office of Thomas V. Sassone, P.C. we help our clients go to court to protect their relationships with their children. We go to great lengths to help our clients achieve the best possible results through legal action.
Each family is unique. Sometimes, joint custody works well for a family. Other times, family dynamics call for one parent to be the primary caretaker with visitation — also called parenting time — for the other parent. Our law firm can help you determine which is best for your family.
In New York State, child support guidelines help parents determine how much support they will pay or receive. The guidelines are based on the parents' incomes and take many different factors into account, such as the costs of day care and medical costs. Parents must often provide tax records and payroll stubs in order to correctly calculate the amount.
It can feel overwhelming to try to make the calculation yourself — especially because so much depends on getting things exactly right. At the Law Office of Thomas V. Sassone, P.C., our New City, New York, law firm represents parents who need child support matters determined as part of a divorce or paternity proceeding, as well as parents seeking to modify or enforce an existing child support order.
Spousal support in New York State is called “spousal maintenance”. Although it is very different, some people still like to use the old term “alimony”. In New York State, there is both a pre-divorce and post-divorce guideline for spousal maintenance. The guidelines are based on the parties; incomes and take many different factors into account, such as whether child support is to be paid, earning potential of the parties, distributive awards, etc. The parties must often provide tax records and payroll stubs in order to correctly calculate the amount.
It can feel overwhelming to try to make the calculation yourself — especially because so much depends on getting things exactly right. At the Law Office of Thomas V. Sassone, P.C. law firm represents parties who need spousal maintenance as part of a divorce proceeding.