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The High Cost of Divorce

February 5, 2023 By Joy Rosenthal

I teach family law at CUNY Law School and the semester started a few weeks ago. Here I was on the first day back (hat hair and all): This week, I brought in a well-respected colleague as a guest to talk about how a contested divorce moves through the court system.  He told the students about discovery demands and motion practice and preliminary conferences and a lot of time-consuming stuff.  And then he mentioned his hourly rate, and there was an audible gasp … read more »

Filed Under: Divorce, General, money Tagged With: divorce, Divorce Finances, finances

What is a QDRO?

July 12, 2021 By Joy Rosenthal

What is a QDRO? A Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO – pronounced Quad-roh) has to do with the division of a retirement account in a divorce. So let’s break this down: Retirement accounts (or at least the parts that grow during a marriage) are considered to be marital property, and will usually be divided between the spouses upon divorce.   Qualified plans are qualified for special tax treatment.  This applies to Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs), pensions, 401(k) and 403(b) accounts, etc.  … read more »

Filed Under: money

What’s in Your Wallet? (Do You Know?)

December 6, 2019 By Joy Rosenthal

Piggy bank with glasses,coins and calculator on table ,gray background

One of the things that I’ve noticed when I mediate is that one person in a couple is often much more financially literate than the other. What do I mean by this? That one person has a better sense of what things cost, what the family needs, and what their financial futures might be. Often one person pays the bills and the other person has only a vague idea of what the household budget is — just that the credit … read more »

Filed Under: Divorce, money Tagged With: divorce, Divorce Financial Planning, finances, Financial Literacy, Institute for Divorce Financial Analysts, Lili Vasileff, Money and Divorce, Savvy Ladies, Stacy Francis

Making a Better Child Support Agreement

April 18, 2019 By Joy Rosenthal

Making a Better Child Support Agreement by Joy Rosenthal

A few months ago, I wrote a few notes about spousal maintenance. Today, I’d like to write a few notes about child support that I think are important to keep in mind. I gave a basic overview of child support last year, but I thought I would take the time to write about it again, since this is such an important part of any separation agreement. (You’re learning along with my students!) The Child Support Formula In an effort to … read more »

Filed Under: Child Support, Children, Divorce, Mediation, money, Negotiation Tagged With: Bradley Amendment, Family Court, New York Family Law, Settlement Agreement, The Child Support Formula

What’s Fair Is Fair… Or Is It?

March 28, 2019 By Joy Rosenthal

“I only want what is equitable. That is my operating principle,” Raymond explained as he sat across from me the first time we met. His wife, Lenore, looked intensely at him. “But what you consider to be equitable is not fair to me,” she said quietly. ‘What was going on here?’ I wondered. I’d only met them for a few minutes, but I could see already that they might have some fundamental differences of opinion — in fact, they might … read more »

Filed Under: Child Support, Collaborative Process, Divorce, Mediation, money, Negotiation, Spousal Maintenance Tagged With: Equitable Distribution, Post-Divorce Parenting, Separation Agreement

NY Spousal Maintenance

February 6, 2019 By Joy Rosenthal

NY Spousal Maintenance by Joy Rosenthal

In the last post, A Few Notes About Spousal Maintenance, I wrote about new considerations that must be made because of recent changes to the federal tax law. Today, I’d like to circle back to explore the purpose and a little bit of the history of New York spousal maintenance laws. Spousal maintenance, or alimony, is a term for periodic and regular support payments from one ex-spouse to the other for a specified length of time. The concept of alimony … read more »

Filed Under: Divorce, money, Negotiation, Spousal Maintenance Tagged With: Alimony, Divorce Finances, New York Spousal Maintenance

4 Steps for Dividing Marital Property

April 26, 2018 By Joy Rosenthal

4 Steps for Dividing Marital Property by Joy Rosenthal

One of the most important steps in creating a divorce agreement is deciding how you will divide marital (or joint) property. This is called division of assets. Here are the basic steps: Identify all of the property either spouse owns. You must share detailed information with each other, including: Bank account numbers and balances as of a specific date. Be sure to include checking, savings, and brokerage accounts. Retirement accounts like pensions, annuities, stock options, deferred compensation, and bonuses. Do … read more »

Filed Under: Divorce, money Tagged With: Dividing Assets, Divorce Finances, Joint Property, Marital Property, Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO)

Dividing the Marital Home

November 13, 2017 By Joy Rosenthal

Dividing the Marital Home By Joy Rosenthal

One of the things that needs to be decided in a divorce is how you’re going to divide up what you own together, and one of the biggest assets that couples usually own is their home. There are several choices as to what happens to the house (or condo or co-op): You can sell the house and divide the proceeds. You can continue to own the house together, even if one person stays there. You can buy out your spouse’s … read more »

Filed Under: Collaborative Process, Divorce, money, Negotiation Tagged With: Division of Property, divorce, Equitable Distribution, Separation, Settlement

$$ and Divorce

January 4, 2016 By Joy Rosenthal

Just published an article in Family Affaires to help you think about your money during divorce. Money can be a big stressor in a marriage, and is often one of the greatest sources of anxiety during a divorce, whether you are mediating, litigating or doing a collaborative process.  These tips can help you get a handle on them so you know what you are working with! Here’s to a productive and fruitful 2016!  

Filed Under: Collaborative Process, Divorce, Mediation, money, Negotiation Tagged With: divorce, finances, money

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Rosenthal Law & Mediation
212.532.4704

Joy S. Rosenthal, Esq.
226 Prospect Park West #156
Brooklyn, NY 11215

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