Category Archives: Marital Settlement Agreement

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.”

Read more on our website.

Promoting Peace during the Holidays

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Stacy D. Phillips

There is almost nothing else that brings underlying family tensions to a head quite like the holidays. For separating, separated, divorcing, and divorced families, this time of year can be highly emotional and stressful. The primary reasons that personal relationships break down—mismatched value systems and power struggles over things big and small—are often on display at the Thanksgiving table or when planning Christmas/Hanukkah gifts for your children or in deciding which side of the family to visit at which time.

We can anticipate that, much like everything else 2020 has impacted, this year’s family in-person and virtual gatherings may be uniquely high on tension and disagreement. Many people are anxious about their health amid another rise in COVID-19 cases or uncertainties surrounding their personal financial situations in the current economy. Add in the political and social unrest in this country and you have a recipe for feeling like you have a lack of control over what is happening in your world.

Like addressing the emotional, psychological, and legal wars of separation and divorce, finding peace during the holidays often requires responding rather than reacting, positive thinking instead of negative strategies, and finding new peaceful solutions to ongoing differences. Despite the political, cultural, and public health uncertainties, there are many opportunities to making the 2020 holiday season a peaceful one.

Reach Out & Be Kind

At the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdowns, people were more likely to empathize with each other, make sacrifices, and reach out to each other with a heightened sense of humanity to say: “we are in this together.” Now that we are nearly nine months into the pandemic, many people, especially those that are separating and divorcing, are fighting over things that are not quite earth-shattering and hating each other with a vengeance.

This holiday season remember that people are struggling, whether impacted by COVID-19 or those who lost work. In addition to focusing on what you can do for others by making that extra donation to the food bank and expressing gratitude to doctors, nurses, first responders, and essential workers, call and check in on family and friends. They may be having a tougher time with loneliness than anyone realizes. When you look back on this time many years from now, you will want to remember the holidays as a positive time when you could focus on others and set aside the strife.

Cooperate to Make New (or Simplify Old) Traditions

If there was ever a year to be flexible and cooperate with your ex for the good of your children, 2020 is it. Many of us will experience frustration that, because of COVID-19, we cannot have the same large family gatherings or have our children easily split time between both parents.

Although nobody knows when the pandemic will end, we will all have to find patience and adapt to the current circumstances. That does not mean old traditions need to end and we should resign ourselves to being alone. Instead, there are new opportunities to see relatives from both your and your ex’s families via Zoom and find creative ways to share time with old friends and family members and carry out old traditions together virtually. Make time for your ex’s family and in-laws if you can, even if only online. When deciding who to have at your table (safely!) or which relatives to invite to Zoom, be as inclusive as possible.

Take Care of Yourself COVID-19 has taken a heavy toll on us physically and psychologically. Not only has the disease directly impacted many of us, but we have all been hit with fatigue and stress. Many of us have been rightfully concerned about others and may be caring for someone else during this time, but do not forget that your physical and mental health matters too. Find time to engage in more of what you love about the holidays. Continue to get regular and proper exercise to vent frustration, tune up your mind and body, and give yourself more energy to face challenges. When you have taken care and control of yourself, it is that much easier to let the happiness and positive energy from the holidays happen.

Mediation for Family Law Disputes—Is It a Cure-All, a Band-Aid Precursor to Litigation, or Something in Between?

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Alan R. Feigenbaum

If during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic you, and/or your spouse, have made the decision to part ways, then there’s a good chance you have considered or read about mediation as a potential way forward. Mediation, including online mediation, is seemingly all the buzz right now. It has become an integral part of the judicial systems in California, Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York.

Think before you act. All else being equal—if you were asked whether you prefer to “mediate” or “litigate,” you probably would choose the former. What you should consider, carefully, is whether or not your family dynamic and your relationship with your soon-to-be ex-spouse is suitable for mediation.

What are the factors to consider when you make your decision? What due diligence should you undertake before saying “yes” or “no” to mediation? Cost is an obvious factor, but let’s dig deeper. Start by asking a simple question: how did your spouse treat you during the marriage—emotionally, financially, as a parent, as a partner? If the answer to all of these categories is resoundingly awful, then think twice about mediation. It may be emotionally taxing to dredge up what has played out during your marriage when you make this calculus, but the alternative is to dive right into the process, cold. Continue reading →