Category Archives: Divorce

In the News

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Below is a roundup of Blank Rome Matrimonial and Family Law Partners’ recent awards, recognitions, media, and other accomplishments from around the country.

Divorce, Pensions, and Survivorship Benefits: A Deadly Combination
April 25, 2025 – Blank Rome partner Alan R. Feigenbaum authored this New York Law Journal article discussing concerns surrounding survivorship benefits in separation agreements.

Kristina Royce Joins the Chiquis and Chill Podcast
April 23, 2025 – Kristina Royce, Blank Rome partner and co-chair of the Matrimonial & Family Law group, joined host Chiquis Rivera on the Chiquis and Chill podcast to discuss important topics such as marriage, divorce, and prenuptial agreements.

Kristina Royce Named Top 100 Lawyer by the Los Angeles Business Journal
April 22, 2025 – Blank Rome partner Kristina Royce, co-chair of the firm’s Matrimonial & Family Law group, has been recognized in the Los Angeles Business Journal’s Top 100 Lawyers 2025.

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The Silent Divorce. Understanding the Sounds Beneath the Quiet.

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Stacy D. Phillips ●

When we think about a marriage on the rocks, or one that is perhaps nearing its final moments, we often paint a picture of frequent, rancorous disagreements and yelling between the two parties involved. It is easy to assume that these are the sounds of a failing and soon-to-be-terminated union, but this is not always the case. Some—perhaps more than some—marriages do not end with a bang, but more of a muffled sob, or sometimes, silence. In some cases, there is no actual legal divorce.

This phenomenon is often referred to as silent divorce, where a relationship never actually comes to an end, yet silently, the couple drifts apart over time after the bonds they once shared have faded away. They hardly spend time together, even in shared living quarters, and essentially lead separate lives. While this arrangement can be regarded as sad, even unhealthy, there are reasons for such a “divorce” to exist.

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Divorce, Pensions, and Survivorship Benefits: A Deadly Combination

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Alan R. Feigenbaum ●

New York Law Journal, April 25, 2025 —

Our artificial intelligence overlords tell us that in America we have a “death-denying culture.” Translation: generally speaking, death is a topic that is presumptively uncomfortable, swept under the rug, and not talked about in this country.

When you draft a separation agreement in a matrimonial matter, you had better sweep the “death-denying” milieu under the rug. Instead, it is critical that matrimonial lawyers who draft separation agreements confront how we are going to address the possibility that one spouse could die after an agreement is signed, but before all its provisions are implemented.

If you ever needed proof of how important it is to get comfortable with the possibility of death when drafting separation agreements, look no further than Justice Joseph H. Lorintz’s recent decision in A.F. v. D.F., 2025 NY Slip Op 50160(U) (Sup. Ct., Nassau Cty., 2025).

In A.F., the parties were married in 1990, and they have three emancipated children. A divorce action was commenced by the wife in 2010 and settled pursuant to a Marital Separation and Property Settlement Agreement (“agreement”) in 2010. The parties were divorced by Judgment in 2010.

The agreement directed the division of the Husband’s pension via a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (“QDRO”). A QDRO was signed simultaneously with the Judgment which directed that the wife (the “Alternate Payee”) would receive survivorship benefits in the event of the husband’s (the “Participant”) death.

In 2011, the New York City Employees’ Retirement System (NYSCERS) sent a letter advising the husband that the “DRO is unacceptable in its current format,” including that the numerator (number of months of retirement credit earned during the marriage) was incorrect.

In 2024—more than a decade after the letter from NYSCERS—the husband filed an Amended Domestic Relations Order that was identical to the 2010 QDRO “except for the deletion of the ordered paragraph directing the [husband] to select a survivorship option.”

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Badmouthing Spouses: Balancing Free Speech with Common Sense

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Alan R. Feigenbaum ●

New York Law Journal, March 27, 2025 —

During a divorce one or both spouses may feel compelled to establish within their community of family and friends the “why,” i.e., each spouse’s explanation as to why the marriage broke down. This is particularly relevant in American culture which, regrettably, can be quick to judge when word gets out that a couple is going through a divorce.

How spouses go about explaining the “why” can take various forms. Some spouses have heart-to-heart, private conversations with their treating mental health professionals. Others, much to the chagrin of their divorce lawyers, may go nuclear and find comfort in a very public social media rant.

The question becomes whether or not spouses are faced with any limitations on speech when they choose—if they do—to discuss their divorce and/or the information they learn during their divorce with third parties.

That brings us to Justice Jeffrey S. Sunshine’s recent decision in T.I. v. R.I., 2025 NY Slip Op 50115(U) (Sup. Ct., Kings Cty. 2025). At the outset, I note that a large portion of the T.I. decision relates to the plaintiff-wife’s motion to disqualify the defendant-husband’s counsel from representing the husband because his counsel was subsequently retained by the husband’s brother in a malicious prosecution action against the wife.

Read more on our website.

In the News

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Below is a roundup of Blank Rome Matrimonial and Family Law partners’ recent awards, recognitions, media, and other accomplishments from around the country.

The Sky is the Limit. Top LA Attorney Stacy D. Phillips Gets Up Close and Personal on Her Lifestyle Podcast “Stacy Phillips & Friends”
February 6, 2025 – Blank Rome partner Stacy D. Phillips was featured in this Beverly Hills Times Magazine article discussing her newly launched podcast, “Stacy Phillips & Friends.”

Kristina Royce Joins The Wall Street Skinny Podcast
February 3, 2025 – Blank Rome partner Kristina Royce joined hosts Kristen Kelly and Jen Saarbach on The Wall Street Skinny podcast to discuss why individuals need to be well-informed about their legal rights and obligations, particularly concerning marriage and financial matters.

Child Custody: The Dangers of ‘Rules of Thumb’
January 30, 2025 – Blank Rome partner Dylan S. Mitchell authored this New York Law Journal article discussing the common principle regarding on acting on what is in the best interests of children.

5 Challenges with Changing Your Name That No One Tells You
January 28, 2025 – Blank Rome partner Ernestine J. Mings was featured in this The Knot article discussing the potential challenges when one has to change their legal name.

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529 Accounts Are Not Your Divorce Piggybank

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Alan R. Feigenbaum ●

New York Law Journal, January 10, 2025 —

Matrimonial law is derived from judicial decisions (i.e., “caselaw”) and statutes. As well intentioned and precise as those statutes and the caselaw interpreting them, are and can be, the fact remains that how matrimonial courts apply the law is by and large case specific.

This is a long-winded way of saying that because each matrimonial case tends to depend upon its own unique set of facts, courts are often compelled to reexamine and reevaluate the legislative intent underlying the statutory framework otherwise known as the Domestic Relations Law (the “DRL”).

That brings us to Justice Edmund M. Dane’s recent decision in LKF v. MTF, 2024 NY Slip OP 24312 (Sup. Ct., Nassau Cty. 12/9/2024), which addresses the “novel issue” of “how to classify a 529 account under the Automatic Orders” and “whether or not a party’s post-commencement withdrawal of money from a 529 account to pay their own counsel fees violates” the Automatic Orders.

Preliminarily, as the decision explains, a “529 Account is a type of investment account that someone can use for higher education savings (emphasis added).” See www.nysaves.org. In general terms, inter alia, the Automatic Orders, codified at Section 236 of the DRL, prohibit transfers/withdrawals/sales/encumbrances of various assets while a divorce action is pending absent written consent of the parties or a court order.

Notably for purposes of this discussion, with regard to the restraint on the transfer of assets such as real estate, personal property, cash accounts, stocks, mutual funds, bank accounts, cars, and boats, there is a carve out for transfers made “in the usual course of business, for customary and usual household expenses or for reasonable attorney’s fees” in connection with the divorce action.

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New Year’s Mandate: Respect Our Matrimonial Judges

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Alan R. Feigenbaum ●

New York Law Journal, December 12, 2024 —

When the legal historians write about the year 2024, one has to wonder what will be said. Only time will tell.

What we do know is that the dynamic between divorce litigants and matrimonial judges has been disrupted in ways that are cause for concern. More specifically, in 2024, we have seen various decisions of interest wherein divorce litigants flouted court orders with impunity.

With that in mind, we turn to the recent decision of Justice Edmund M. Dane in Y.R. v. A.O.R. 2024 NY Slip Op 51487(U) (Sup. Ct., Nassau County).

The Y.R. divorce saga involved a “tortured litigation history.” The parties married in 2000, had no unemancipated children, and an action for divorce was filed in 2011.

The parties’ June 2012 stipulation of settlement resolving the divorce action required the wife to either list and sell a residence in Great Neck, New York by March 1, 2017, or purchase the husband’s interest in the residence for $75,000. In short, she did neither.

The husband moved for a warrant of eviction, and the court granted the motion to the extent of setting a date certain by which the wife is to vacate the Great Neck residence, failing which a warrant of eviction “shall be issued” directing her removal by a sheriff.

Read more on our website.

In the News

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Below is a roundup of Blank Rome’s Matrimonial & Family Law partners’ recent awards, recognitions, media, and other accomplishments from around the country.

Reconciling the Law of ‘Cohabitation’ with Social Realities
October 10, 2024 – Blank Rome partner Alan R. Feigenbaum authored this New York Law Journal article about alimony payments and when they should be terminated. 

Marilyn B. Chinitz Joins the Women Winning Divorce Podcast
October 7, 2024 – Blank Rome partner Marilyn B. Chinitz joins the Women Winning Divorce podcast to discuss how to handle and divide complex assets, tips for receiving alimony, and strategies to safeguard assets during divorce. 

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The Story of Divorce. How It Has Evolved, and Where It Is Going.

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Stacy D. Phillips ●

Every experience has a story, even the unpleasant ones. The story, or even the entity of marriage and divorce, whether our own or “divorce” at large, evolves with time. A simple fact is that the longer we have been around, the greater the opportunity to take a look and contemplate where we have been and perhaps even glean where the often lamentable (or, in some cases, welcome) phenomenon of divorce is going.

There was once a time when a divorce that occurred on any basis would be considered unthinkable, even unacceptable, throughout any aspect of life, personal or professional. It is fair to say that the many characteristics of marriage, as well as its potential dissolution, have changed since I first began practicing family law. One important factor I have learned over time is that it takes courage to make marriage work, and divorce is no different. We can also find courage in asking what has changed and why. 

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What It Means to Have ‘Joint Legal Custody’

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Alan R. Feigenbaum ●

New York Law Journal, November 1, 2024 —

As divorce lawyers, when we break down the parameters of “physical custody” and “legal custody,” we tend to proceed on autopilot.

Meaning, we immediately begin to determine what could be a workable “regular schedule” (which parent is with a child, when, and for how long, in a 14-night cycle, i.e., 7-7, 8-6, 9-5) and a “holiday/vacation schedule,” i.e., who has this holiday versus that holiday in “even-numbered” vs. “odd-numbered” years.

We then get to work on how “major decisions” affecting a child’s welfare will be made, e.g., sole decision-making, joint decision-making, joint decision-making with a parenting coordinator as a “tiebreaker” of sorts, etc.

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