Long Island Family Law and Mediation Blog
This blog is the conclusion of my six part bullet point series summarizing my divorce mediation blogs over the years.
Mature couples going through divorce, sometimes referred to as gray or mature divorces often have a different perspective than younger couples. Mediation is a good option for these couples as well, though, some will still opt to litigate. After all, it takes two people willing to sit down and negotiate to be able to engage in alternative dispute resolution. Having an expeditious process, which mediation is the most likely to be, is often a top priority for older divorcees. Having a fair settlement that allows each side to meet their needs going forward is of utmost importance. Like for everyone, these couples are advised of the importance of using review attorneys and speaking with financial and tax professionals to ensure that they will be able to take care of themselves, in the right manner, after the couple separates and divorces. The mediation can focus on budgets and how it is that the transition from one household to two can be accomplished so that everyone is able to move on with the next chapters of their lives. How to handle distribution of retirement assets like IRAs, 401ks, and pensions is particularly important to focus on in divorce mediation for older individuals. What to do with the house, marital debt and perhaps child custody (if there are children under 18), and child support (which the default law in New York is that it lasts until 21 years of age) all are topics that might still apply. Everything needs to be explored.
Notably, social security benefits are not something that can be distributed in divorces. Rather, each person’s entitlement to social security benefits is determined by the federal Social Security laws. But social security benefits might be something that does get discussed in mediation. The benefits are income to the recipients and can be important in determining the proper amount of maintenance or support to be paid from one party to the other and for how long it should last. Likewise, someone’s entitlement to Medicare is something of a matter covered by federal law. This might be worth discussing in order to figure out how long one spouse needs to stay on the health insurance plan of the other. Often a separation agreement might be an option to stay on the spouse’s plan for a period until Medicare would kick in. Divorce is an event that in all or most instances prevents someone from staying on the health insurance plan of the ex-spouse. When Social Security or Medicare kicks in is something that parties can discuss with their divorce mediators in order to figure out how long maintenance should last. Continue reading ›
This blog is a continuation of my bullet point series on divorce mediation that summarizes my past mediation blogs –
continue my summary of my divorce mediation blogs from over the years.
points –
The May 16, 2019 article of Dan M. Clark in the New York Law Journal outlined 
For residents of Long Island and New York, I have long offered divorce mediation as an alternative form of dispute resolution. While I do litigation and traditional settlement negotiations for divorce too, divorce mediation is an opportunity for divorcing or separating parties to come together and negotiate the terms that dictate the end of their relationship. Using divorce mediators, couples can keep the courts largely out of their divorce process, while maintaining more control over what happens next. What’s more, for many people, mediation can be a lot less expensive than paying for litigation.
Dealing with a divorce is always an emotional and tiring process – no matter whether your relationship ends amicably or otherwise. Sometimes, the best way to keep issues to a minimum is to choose a form of conflict resolution that requires as little input from the courts as possible. With a solution like divorce mediation, you can maintain more control over what happens during your divorce, and even choose the perfect outcome for you and your partner. Mediation also gives families the opportunity to maintain some semblance of a relationship after a divorce takes place, by keeping the tension between a mother and father, or husband and wife to a minimum. However, mediation isn’t the right option for everyone.
Assets aren’t the only thing that may need to be distributed between two parties when a divorce takes place. Some couples need to think about distributing their debts too – particularly when there is a dispute about whether the couple agreed to take on those financial commitments together or not. In order to prove to the courts of New York and Long Island that a debt should be split, parties must provide some crucial information. Most commonly, the courts will require some evidence that the debt was incurred either for the benefit of the other party, the household, or with the other party’s permission. This is a way that something may be considered marital debt, rather than just “individual” debt.