Getting a divorce in New York requires you and your spouse to resolve some very specific issues, namely:

• Issues of child custody and visitation schedules
• Child support, including contributions to education and health insurance
• Spousal maintenance
• Splitting all the marital assets and debts (after it is determined what is actually "marital"). For example:
  • Who gets the house?
  • Who pays off the mortgage?
  • How will the family business be dealt with?
  • Who gets which car and who pays the loans off?
  • How are the 401k or pension accounts going to be split?

The question is, "How do you resolve these issues?" There are only two options:

1. Negotiation
2. Trial

If you can negotiate a resolution to all of the issues listed above, you can move forward with an uncontested divorce that may require no court appearances at all. If any of the issues remain unresolved, you are heading toward trial.

Here is the ironic secret to avoiding trial and all the costs associated with it: don't be afraid to go to trial; in fact - prepare for it. Find an attorney who helps you create a negotiation strategy while remaining completely prepared to take unresolved issues to court. Your attorney's confidence will bolster your own, and in the end, you will reach a better outcome. You'd be surprised how many lawyers out there aren't comfortable with trial rules and procedures. I avoid trial by being ready for it.

We will help you work through each issue by developing a strategy designed to deliver what is important to you.

Now, for a reality check. Not every attorney is a perfect fit for every person going through a divorce. If you want a team of lawyers who employ a scorched-earth strategy to winning; a firm that will run up tens of thousands of dollars in legal bills just to force your spouse into submission, well, that isn't us. We can win without being despicable. So can you. On the other hand, if your spouse is already being impossible; if they hired a lawyer who is happily wrecking your life with a constant barrage of paperwork and demands, well then, feel free to call. We don't mind putting bullies in their place.

To schedule a consultation, please call us at (585) 204-7330. We charge a flat rate to sit down with you, listen to your story, and begin to develop a plan for moving forward. Our consultations are not free, but they are valuable. When you are ready to move forward, please get in touch.