In the News

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

Postnuptial Agreements as Risk Management Tools for Executives and Entrepreneurs
January 26, 2026 – Blank Rome partner Jackie Combs authored this National Law Review article discussing how a postnuptial agreement is both a personal and strategic business tool for executives and entrepreneurs.

What Is Alienation of Affection? Attorney Breaks Down Rare Legal Concept That Cost a Tiktoker $1.75 Million
January 26, 2026 – Blank Rome partner Brett Ward was featured in this PEOPLE article discussing how social media can play a role in civil cases surrounding alienation of affection.

STI Transmission & Divorce: A Form of Domestic Violence
January 22, 2026 – Blank Rome partner Alan R. Feigenbaum authored this New York Law Journal article discussing how domestic violence includes non-physical harm such as the reckless transmission of STIs.

Attorney Jackie Combs on National Divorce Month
January 21, 2026 – Blank Rome partner Jackie Combs was featured in this PIX11 News’ New York City Living article discussing why January is often known as “National Divorce Month.” 

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In the News

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


Second Season of “Stacy Phillips & Friends” Launched
November 18, 2025 – Blank Rome partner Stacy D. Phillips has launched the second season of her lifestyle podcast “Stacy Phillips & Friends.” This podcast engages in insightful conversations with remarkable businesswomen, philanthropists, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders, inspiring and empowering women to transform their lives and careers

Letters to Let Go: The Healing Power of Expressive Writing
November 13, 2025 – Blank Rome partner Lois J. Liberman’s Look Ahead series is designed to bring our community together to help tackle today’s most complex relationship and divorce issues.

This Celebrity Attorney’s Client List Is Getting Younger—but There Is One Thing She Says Gen Z Is Doing Right in Relationships
October 30, 2025 – Blank Rome partner Jackie Combs was featured in this CNBC article discussing the importance of communication within relationships.

‘Real Housewives’ Divorce Bombshell — Bravo Star Could Be ‘Individually Charged and Prosecuted in Criminal Court’ If She Walks Away from Marriage
October 29, 2025 – Blank Rome partner Ernestine J. Mings was featured in this Radar Online article discussing potential criminal charges surrounding Real Housewives star Wendy Osefo’s divorce. 

Cardi B’s Divorce: Money Moves and Legal Lessons
October 28, 2025 – Blank Rome partner Morgan F. Mouchette authored this Forbes article discussing complications surrounding rap music star Cardi B’s divorce

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In the News

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

‘Meaningful Consultation’ Over Add-On Expenses in Divorce
July 24, 2025 – Blank Rome partner Alan R. Feigenbaum authored this New York Law Journal article discussing “add-on expenses” within custody agreements. 

Chambers High Net Worth 2025 Highly Ranks Blank Rome Matrimonial & Family Law Group and Attorneys
July 24, 2025 – Chambers High Net Worth 2025 has highly ranked Blank Rome’s Matrimonial & Family Law practice group in California and New York, as well as co-chairs Kristina Royce and Morgan Fraser Mouchette, and partners Marilyn B. Chinitz, Norman S. Heller, Lois J. Liberman, Sophie Jacobi-Parisi, Stacy D. Phillips, Mary T. Vidas, and Brett S. Ward. 

Stacy D. Phillips and Kristina Royce Recognized as Leading California Family, Matrimonial & Divorce Lawyers by Doyle’s Guide
July 23, 2025 – Blank Rome is pleased to share that partners Stacy D. Phillips and Kristina Royce have been recognized in the 2025 listing of Leading California Family, Matrimonial & Divorce Lawyers by Doyle’s Guide.

Here’s How Much Andy Byron’s Divorce Bill Could Be Following Coldplay Kiss Cam Debacle
July 19, 2025 – Blank Rome partner Jacqueline Combs was featured in this New York Post article discussing the potential fallout from Andy Byron’s recent incident at Coldplay’s concert.

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In the News

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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In the News

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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Prenuptial Agreement Spousal Support Waivers: Proceed with Caution

Alan R. Feigenbaum

New York Law Journal, February 14, 2025 —

When you utter the words “prenuptial agreement” to a matrimonial lawyer, more often than not you might instantly feel a sense of dread in the air. Some matrimonial lawyers are so adverse to prenuptial agreements that they tell me “I won’t do them anymore”. Other matrimonial lawyers I talk to say that prenuptial agreements should be banned altogether. 

Alas, prenuptial agreements remain alive and well in New York, and so we, as matrimonial lawyers, must confront their ever-present complexities. 

With that in mind, we turn to the critically important decision of Justice Jeffrey S. Sunshine in J.M. v. G.V., 2025 NY Slip Op 25004 (Kings Cty., January 2, 2025). 

In J.M., the parties married in New York on May 23, 2018. One week prior, on May 16, 2018, the parties entered into a prenuptial agreement. The parties had one unemancipated child, born in September 2020. After the plaintiff-wife commenced an action for divorce, the defendant-husband moved for summary judgment to, inter alia, set aside the prenuptial agreement on the basis that the agreement “is unconscionable, fraudulent, and/or the result of overreaching”.

The husband was not represented by counsel during the negotiation and consummation of the prenuptial agreement. He asserted that the wife informed him that “if he wanted to marry her it was required by her family that he signed a prenuptial agreement.” According to the husband, when the prenuptial agreement was signed, the husband had a net worth of $27,000, and the wife had a net worth of over $455,000.

While the focus of this article will be spousal support waivers in prenuptial agreements, there are a multitude of important legal concepts that can be learned from reading the J.M. decision.

Read more on our website.

In the News

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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Navigating the Nuances of LGBTQ+ Divorce in California

Stacy D. Phillips ●

The end of a marriage is always challenging for the couple involved, and the impact on family members can be significant. Those in LGBTQ+ marriages are no different. Issues around child custody, property division, spousal support, and the enforcement of prenuptial agreements all apply to same-sex couples.

In California, there is no common-law marriage. In some cases, the LGBTQ+ couple may not have been married long at the time of the divorce, but they may have been together for much longer than the marriage itself. Whether they were registered as a domestic partnership will make a difference. In such cases, the couple will have similar rights and obligations as those married for the same length of time.

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In the News

Below is a roundup of our attorneys’ recent awards, recognitions, media, and other accomplishments from around the country.

Girlfriends, Boyfriends, Dating, and Divorce: Oh My!
May 29, 2024 – Blank Rome partner Alan R. Feigenbaum will join Judge Matthew F. Cooper (New York State Supreme Court, Retired) to present “Girlfriends, Boyfriends, Dating, and Divorce: Oh My!” a Federal Bar Association myLawCLE program being held Wednesday, May 29, 2024, from 1:00 to 2:40 p.m. EDT, as a live online webinar.

Marilyn B. Chinitz, Kristina Royce, and Brett S. Ward Recognized in Variety’s Legal Impact Report 2024
April 17, 2024 – Blank Rome is pleased to share that Matrimonial & Family Law partner Marilyn B. Chinitz and practice co-chairs and partners Kristina Royce and Brett S. Ward have been recognized in Variety’s 2024 Legal Impact Report.

Following in the Footsteps of Trailblazers and Serving as Role Models Today for the Next Generation of Women
April 17, 2024 – In this Love Bytes blog post, Stacy D. Phillips shares her feelings on women as trailblazers and how they can influence the generations to come.

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A Divorce Court Prioritizes a Family’s Best Interests

New York Law Journal, March 29, 2024 ●

Alan R. Feigenbaum ●

At times, this author has noticed a certain level of dejectedness among matrimonial lawyers in the post-pandemic world, and that includes yours truly. The feeling stems from what many matrimonial lawyers have told me is a sense that our judicial system is understaffed, and in desperate need of more resources.

More specifically, I hear about (and experience) a growing number of motions that are left undecided, judgments of divorce that seem to take eons to get signed (and then entered), and clients who are, accordingly, left somewhat disillusioned by the process.

But most concerning is a sentiment I’ve started to hear recently, which is that the best interests of families are not being prioritized, and not out of any ill will, but simply because our judicial system is overwhelmed and cannot practically keep up with the relentless flow of divorce cases that enter the system daily.

Perhaps that is why, when I read Judge Victor G. Grossman’s recent decision in J.H. v. C.H., 2024 NY Slip Op 50220(U) (Supreme Court, Putnam County), I couldn’t help but smile in complete satisfaction from start to finish, because in this case, a divorce court did what we, as matrimonial lawyers, can only hope for: it prioritized the best interests of a family.

Read more on our website.