Video – Divorce Mediation Attorney Explains The Recent Changes In New York Uncontested Divorce Forms
Video Transcript
Ray Hrdlicka – Host – Attorneys.Media
Hi, this is Ray Hrdlicka, host of Attorneys. Media, Legal Commentary Interviews, and In the News, and today we’re sitting with Bill Leininger, a divorce mediation attorney in Staten Island. He actually works all over the New York area, but my question to him today is about a recent change that occurred in the civil legal industry in New York.
New York came out with what’s called, let me read it, an uncontested joint divorce form. They just came out with this form in February. The United, excuse me, the Unified Court Systems in New York came out with this form and it made some changes in the divorce proceedings in New York.
So Bill, I want to welcome you here today. Can you please tell us what some of those changes were?
Bill Leininger – Divorce Mediation Attorney – Staten Island, NY and Sarasota FL
Yes. You know, there’s an expression in the law, you know, it’s de minimis. And basically, let’s not get too excited over these changes, because when you look at them, they’re really not that earth shattering.
For example, plaintiff is now called Person one or spouse one, and now the defense, spouse two. In some states, you had husband and wife, and because of changes in the marriage and rules and stuff like that, you could have two biological male or biological females, and some states eliminated that nomenclature, which you can understand. But plaintiff and defendant had nothing to do with gender. So why they thought they were making a big contribution by changing plaintiff to spouse one, I don’t know.
There are a few changes. For example, instead of the plaintiff, the one filing the paper, it’s called the plaintiff, and he or she signs and swears to the truth of a complaint for divorce. Now they have a joint affirmation of facts. It’s basically the same, since we have no fault in New York anyway, it’s just basically going to say that both parties have experienced an irretrievable breakdown of the marriage. Where in the past, we said the plaintiff alleges that the parties have experienced an irretrievable breakdown in the marriage. It doesn’t mean a hill of beans, okay?
So, from a practical point of view, just as a cue, because I hadn’t heard very much about it, I called three divorce lawyers, who I respect, two had never heard of the change in law. And the third one said, Yeah, I haven’t had a case, and I haven’t had a case. I will be discussing it next week. We’re just finishing up, and I will now bring them up to the option they have.
The big possible benefit to this law is, is it going to stop the nonsense of having to wait terrible amount of time, by way of a comparison. Our sister state, New Jersey, which is the next state over, if you’re in the Superior Court and you have your inquest and it takes about five minutes. The judge turns to the bailiff and says, Bailiff, go into my chambers and affix the New Jersey seal of court and bring two copies out, one for the husband and one for the wife. And it takes about five minutes and they bring out and you’re divorced and you’re walking out of the courthouse with it, right?
Well, New York unfortunately doesn’t work so good. And when you submit the papers and the defendant, now I’m talking about the old solution, the plaintiff filed the papers and you had a marital settlement agreement, which said, Hey, we’re agreeing to this. And then the defendant signed an affidavit saying, I hereby consent to all of the relief that the plaintiff is asking for. Now we have it on one piece of paper. Whoopee. What’s the big improvement about it?
The theoretical possibility is that because the judge is going to see both signatures, not just on the marital settlement agreement, but on what is in essence a complaint for divorce, that instead of seeing a separate I consent to the relief, he’s going to sign it quickly without feeling that he has to go through the whole thing. Because the judge does have an obligation to make sure that it’s on its face, it’s a fair agreement.
I called the courts in Staten Island earlier today and the two courts the two clerks that I would ask for would be the pro se clerk that Latin expression comes from inappropriate persona and it basically means I’m representing myself in court and the other would be the matrimonial term clerk. Well, the matrimonial term clerk said that the extension hasn’t been set up so it’s no one to take the call and the pro se clerk just had a message saying you know you can leave a message for us so… If this is what happens when people try to call…
And the question was going to be, in the several months, because the effective date is supposedly January 15th, but they did make very important revisions as of March 1st. So, I don’t think anything happened before March 1st. So, we’re not talking about a long period of time. But my question was, and I was going to ask is, are they still sitting in boxes for three, five, eight, God forbid, 13 months before the judge signs it.
Ray Hrdlicka – Host – Attorneys.Media
That’s unconscionable.
Bill Leininger – Divorce Mediation Attorney – Staten Island, NY and Sarasota FL
Yes, it is.
And what happens if one person says, well, the $5,000 a month I was going to give you, they don’t pay. Well, how is the other party going to live? How are the children going to live? It is unconscionable.
So, if the… In reality, if the effect is the judge is going to sign those like they do in the Jersey Superior Court the same day, and the next day you get the phone call saying, You can pick up your copy, it would be good.
Of course, there’s no need really to have a different name on the document. It’s just tell the judge that if there’s notarized signatures on the marital settlement agreement, and there’s the defendant’s consent to the judgment of divorce on a separate piece of paper, why isn’t the judge signing the paper the same day in any event?
So, I don’t mean to minimize it. It sounds, in my opinion, you had some bureaucrats who wanted to, you know, look like they’re trying to accomplish something. In my opinion, I don’t see what they’ve really accomplished.
Ray Hrdlicka – Host – Attorneys.Media
Well, let’s hope, let’s hope that sometime, somewhere in the future, in New York, they start signing that sooner. And that would make life a lot easier, as he said, for the problems of the people who are getting divorced. Thank you very much for giving us an insight on that, Bill, and we’ll have you on again next month.
Bill Leininger – Divorce Mediation Attorney – Staten Island, NY and Sarasota FL
Pleasure talking to you, Ray.
Ray Hrdlicka – Host – Attorneys.Media
Thank you. Bye.
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