Dutchess County Divorce Law Blog

Issues surrounding child support often cause many problems for couples who are divorcing or separating. Even so, it is vital that the noncustodial parent pay the amount that has been ordered by the court. When it is not paid as ordered, the results can be devastating.

One man in Rockland County found out firsthand what happens when child support is not paid on time. In most cases, individuals are permitted to accrue arrears, which should be paid on over time in an effort to bring the child support account current. However, when thousands of dollars are owed, and no effort to pay has been seen, legal action becomes necessary.

Some New York residents may be following the extremely contentious divorce of Jamie and Frank McCourt. Frank McCourt is at least a partial owner of the Dodgers baseball franchise, which played a major role in their property division discussions. After a lengthy court battle, the couple finally settled on an agreement that left Jamie with multiple homes and $130 million. Now, however, she is arguing that she deserves more.

Whether or not the McCourts' divorce will stand hinges on the value of the Dodgers and whether Frank was truthful about how much the team was worth. Just after they settled their divorce, Frank sold the team for $2 billion. Although documents filed during their divorce show that Frank value the team and all that goes with it at $2 billion, Jamie claims she was led to believe it was only worth $300 million. Now, she says she deserves $770 million more than what she got.

About a month ago we wrote about New York woman who successfully had her prenuptial agreement invalidated in divorce court. The court decided that because the woman and her husband signed the agreement just days before their wedding, she was most likely coerced into signing it. Today, we're going to dive a little deeper into what other factors could get a prenup tossed out.

As we already know from the New York woman's story, a prenuptial agreement must be signed willingly by both parties. Additionally, the prenup must fully disclose the assets of both spouses. Just like in a divorce, a prenup can only be fairly upheld if everything is reported correctly. Hiding assets from a spouse in order to get a better deal will quickly leave you starting a divorce from scratch.

We all know that getting divorced raises challenges for the couple involved. In most circumstances, however, you and your spouse have decided that divorce is the best thing for both of you. Your children, however, may not understand that. To them, their parents are splitting and they might not know why.

Many people in New York know what it is like to watch their parents get divorced. If you do, remember what it felt like. You probably experienced a total upheaval of your life. You had to start splitting time between two homes, holiday traditions were broken, and you had to get used to the fact that your parents broke up. While these situations are inevitable in divorce, the way you talk to your children about it can help ease them through the process.