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Matrimonial Law Practice
The Law Office of Jason Karavias, Esq. provides professional legal representation of clients with respect to various issues arising from marital dissolutions in New York State, and negotiates and prepares prenuptial, postnuptial and legal separation agreements.
Marital Dissolutions
Divorce Issues
Prenuptial, Postnuptial and Legal Separation Agreements
Marital Dissolutions
Obtaining competent and reliable information and legal advice is crucial in a matrimonial action in New York State because it maximizes your ability to achieve your desired results. Jason Karavias, Esq. possesses the legal knowledge and experience to inform you of your legal rights and obligations in relation to your divorce or separation and develop a divorce plan or strategy based upon your individual circumstances to best achieve your desired results, while always understanding that you remain the manager of and exercise control over your own divorce case.
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Uncontested Divorce
An uncontested divorce occurs when both spouses are in total agreement regarding all issues involved in the dissolution of a marriage in New York State and are ready, willing and able to cooperate with each other. Uncontested divorces offer great advantages in terms of speed, low cost and certainty of result since the two parties are not litigating.
When both parties are willing to work together to resolve differences amicably, all the required legal documentation can be quickly and professionally prepared by Jason Karavias, Esq. for the approval and signature of both spouses for presentation to the court. In almost all cases, neither spouse is required to make any court appearances.
The guidance provided to clients by a skilled uncontested divorce lawyer will ensure that all the necessary issues will be resolved prior to filing the divorce papers, including the grounds for divorce, property distribution and asset division, maintenance or spousal support, and in cases involving children, child custody and visitation and child support.
Despite the relative ease of uncontested divorces, a lawyer is still needed to expertly work through the various issues presented. Both contested and uncontested divorces involve the same issues of property distribution and spousal support, and where there are children of the marriage, issues of child custody, visitation and support. The difference between an uncontested divorce and a contested divorce is that the two parties to an uncontested divorce have mutually agreed to resolve all of the required issues in order to avoid litigation. Uncontested divorces also spare children from being subjected to a possible custody dispute.
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Contested Divorces
A contested divorce occurs when some or all of the issues, such as property distribution, spousal support, child custody and visitation and child support, are in dispute.
You may initiate a divorce and find that your spouse does not agree with your proposed disposition of the case, or you may be served with divorce papers by your spouse and decide that you cannot accept or strongly disagree with the proposed terms of the divorce and realize that litigation will be required to settle the differences between you and your spouse.
In such circumstances, it would be prudent to seek the advice of a divorce attorney to determine the extent of your legal rights and obligations and what options are available to you considering the specifics of your situation. New York has time limits for filing answers and responding to your spouse's pleadings and discovery efforts and you should be aware of the risk of missing important deadlines which may have a detrimental outcome to your case.
In an effort to help negotiations proceed in a practical and realistic way, I advise my clients during our consultations what to expect from the litigated divorce process and assist my clients in focusing on what they hope to accomplish through the court system at each stage of the representation.
The cases which cannot be settled with communications with the other spouse’s lawyer can often be settled after some very initial pleadings and motions have been filed presenting the various issues to the court. The process is usually comprised of sworn written statements presented alternately between the parties, each responding to the other party's previous contentions, along with court conferences designed to constantly narrow down the divorce issues to be ultimately tried by the court. The “discovery" or “disclosure” phase of your case will involve an investigation by both sides into the financial and other issues of your marriage.
In the majority of cases, contested divorces are settled prior to a trial. However, there are cases which need to be brought further into the litigation process before securing the maximum settlement value under the law and can very well end up in a trial.
Divorce litigation can be hazardous and costly and there are no guarantees that can be made by any divorce lawyer. Yet the advice of a divorce lawyer can be particularly valuable in the cases which first need to be litigated before achieving the maximum result.
How far along into the litigation process your case will go is largely dependant upon the individual circumstances of your case and the decisions that you make along the way. How your divorce will proceed and how much money it will ultimately cost you depends a great deal upon you and is very much under your control.
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New York Divorce Issues
The judge presiding over your matrimonial case is primarily charged with deciding certain main issues: grounds, property distribution, maintenance, child custody and visitation and child support.
Grounds for Divorce
New York is not a no-fault divorce state and a ground for divorce is required. Without a strong grounding in one of the legal bases for divorce, you may not be able to obtain a divorce. Jason Karavias, Esq. has the experience needed to gather the evidence and present a strong ground for divorce on your behalf.
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Equitable Distribution of Property
Equitable distribution is the law in New York that determines the division of property and distribution of assets at the end of a marriage. Equitable distribution may be dealt with by the parties themselves by agreement or by judicial decree, whereby the court examines specific factors enumerated in the law and determines the fair division of the property that was accumulated during the marriage and the debts of the parties.
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Maintenance
Unlike child support, maintenance or spousal support is not an automatic right in New York. Parties can agree amongst themselves on a method and amount of appropriate maintenance, or the court can grant an award if a proper request is made and the circumstances warrant such an award. The need of one spouse verses the ability of the other spouse to pay is what will typically control an award of maintenance. The court normally considers the income of the parties, the duration of the marriage, the health of the parties, the pre-separation standard of living of each spouse, each spouse’s ability to be self-supporting, as well as the fact that the parent with child custody may be unable to work full-time because of child care responsibilities.
It is important to realize that the court does not award maintenance to punish or reward a spouse for prior behavior. Divorce is viewed as the breakup of an economic partnership, in addition to an emotional relationship. The court does keep track of the fact that maintenance and child support may be coming from the same source, and does not want to overtax a person’s resources.
In New York, maintenance is rarely granted on a permanent basis, except in cases of physical or mental disability or when the parties are elderly. Generally, maintenance is granted for a set period of time to allow the receiving party to regain their financial stability after the termination of the marriage.
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Child Support
Child support issues can arise both during and after a divorce. Child support is also an issue with unmarried parents, often requiring DNA paternity testing. In general terms, child support is based upon the incomes of both parents and which parent has actual physical custody of the children
New York takes the parents' obligation to support their children very seriously. The law provides that both parents must share in the financial responsibility of raising their children until the children reach the age of 21, or are sooner emancipated. In New York, child support is the legal right of the child, and not a right which may be waived by either or both parents.
For parents who are not receiving the child support to which they are entitled, there are legal means which can be employed in certain cases to attempt to collect unpaid child support, including income deduction orders. Clients may also seek modifications of prior child support orders, revising amounts upward or downward, when there is a sufficient change in the child support payer’s financial circumstances.
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Child Custody and Visitation
Child custody and visitation can be the most contentious areas of divorce, very often resulting in tough court battles. According to New York law, the child’s best interests dictate custody. Physical custody (where is the child's main residence) and legal custody (who makes decisions about the child) are the two elements of custody to be decided. Custody may be joint (shared by consent between the parties) or it may be sole as determined by agreement or by court order.
Very often, parents cannot agree on a mutually satisfactory custody arrangement which best meets the child’s best interests. If the custody issue cannot be resolved between the parents, it will eventually be decided by the court through litigation. Before custody is awarded, the court usually undertakes various investigative steps, which may include hearings at which both parties present evidence, to determine custody based upon the best interests of each child.
The parent who does not have physical custody has either reasonable rights of visitation as decided by the parents themselves or a specified visitation schedule, which may or may not be supervised. Only in very rare cases may the non-custodial parent be denied visitation, usually for very specific reasons such as severe substance abuse, history of domestic violence or lack of interest in the child.
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Prenuptial, Postnuptial and Legal Separation Agreements
Whether you and your spouse or fiancé wish to formalize your agreements concerning current or future divisions, distribution or dispositions of separate or marital property, child custody, visitation and support arrangements, or any other financial or familial rights and obligations, whether prior to or after marriage, Jason Karavias, Esq. can negotiate and professionally prepare contracts or agreements concerning any issues which parties wish to settle between themselves and have the effect of being legally binding.
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Schedule a consultation with Jason Karavias, Esq. to be informed of your legal rights and obligations and explore strategies for your matrimonial case.
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