Ok folks, let’s get right into things. Below are the most frequently asked questions that were presented to our legal experts at our Brooklyn, NY office by clients that visited for free consultations.

Q: How Much Does a Divorce Lawyer Cost in Brooklyn?

A: There is no telling how much a divorce lawyer may cost in New York. Every divorce case is different, with its own unique set of circumstances and details that make up each individual case. In addition, every divorce lawyer charges a different amount to each client. That amount is dependent on the case itself, the lawyer’s experience, education, and caseload, and a host of other important factors that need to be considered.

Q: Do I Need a Lawyer for My Divorce?

A: No, you do not technically need a lawyer to pursue a divorce in New York. In fact, you legally don’t need a lawyer for any legal issue that may arise. You are more than able to try and handle your case on your own. However, it is highly recommended that you do not do that. Consulting with a lawyer can greatly help your case. Having someone on your side who understands the complexities of the law can only help in the long run.

Q: Is New York a No-Fault Divorce State?

A: Yes, it is a no-fault divorce state. However, it only recently became one, so many of the original potential grounds for divorce still stand as possible methods of pursuing a divorce. Going forward, many, if not most, divorces will likely be done under the grounds of irreconcilable differences through a no-fault process. Right now, the state is sort of both a no-fault and at-fault state for divorce. Either way, a lawyer can help you establish grounds.

Q: Is New York a 50-50 State for Asset Division?

A: No, New York is not a 50-50 state when it comes to asset division. Instead, the court system separates assets in a more equitable way. Equitable distribution involves separating marital assets in a way that is fair to both spouses and their gross income. This may not always equate to a 50-50, down-the-middle division.

Important Qualities of a Divorce Lawyer

Our clients who came to sit down with our legal staff were also very interested in what qualities they should look for when making the final decision on which law firm to retain. So we will now present to you our full answer below.

Hiring an experienced divorce lawyer may just be the most important step you take throughout your entire divorce process. A divorce lawyer can help you establish a custody agreement for your children, negotiate a settlement with your spouse’s divorce lawyer, and ensure that you are never taken advantage of. Your lawyer can help you stay focused and ensure that you receive what you are trying to get in your divorce.

When considering hiring a divorce lawyer, there are a number of important qualities you should take into consideration as well. After all, you want a divorce lawyer you can rely on, trust, respect, and who is going to devote a significant amount of their time to you.

The lawyer you decide to hire will be representing you in a very public way and will be assisting you with life-altering changes that could involve your children. They should know what’s at stake. Here are some of those qualities:

• Communication. Lawyers need to be effective communicators in order to do their job well. Communication skills are vital in the legal profession. A good lawyer has to be able to ensure that their clients understand every aspect of their case, and they have to be able to give their clients bad news when things don’t seem to be going their way. Without good communication, the relationship between you and your lawyer could fall apart.It is also important to remember that communication is very much a two-way street. You have to be able to communicate openly with your lawyer about every aspect of your case. Otherwise, they won’t be able to do their job properly. In order to learn the intimate details of your case and what you need from them, your lawyer will discuss everything primarily with you. You need to be honest with them from the start, or your case may not succeed.

• Experience. Experience is one of the most important and useful qualities a lawyer can have. When deciding on a lawyer to hire for your divorce, you should seek out someone who has a great deal of experience handling cases like yours. A decent track record of success can’t hurt your case, either. By applying their experience, a good divorce lawyer can prepare you for any setbacks that could occur and apply past winning strategies to your case. You may feel like you should provide a leg up for a young upstart lawyer who may not have the level of experience that you need. While that can be a nice gesture, you need to prioritize your own case and what you could lose if your lawyer is not experienced enough to provide you with the level of legal assistance you need for a case like yours.

• Knowledge. Few things in the legal world are as useful and necessary as a wealth of knowledge. Becoming a lawyer takes a great deal of discipline, study, and time. The law is such a broad field of practice. Studying family law is different from studying personal injury law or employment law. You will want to retain a committed, knowledgeable family lawyer who can apply their education to your case.

• Reputation. In most professions, particularly when it comes to lawyers, a good solid reputation can mean so much. Many professions trade on their reputation alone, and lawyers work for decades to develop a strong one that reflects their integrity and commitment to the work. Before hiring a divorce lawyer, you may want to check out some reviews from past clients or ask for referrals from family and friends.

• Compassion. Dealing with a divorce is not easy. Passions may be running high, and personal attacks may be plentiful. You may not have had to deal with anything like this in the past, and it is important that you hire a lawyer who understands what you are going through. A little compassion and empathy can go a long way. A good divorce lawyer knows what their clients are going through, as they have seen it many times. Your lawyer may be willing to provide you with an ear to listen to your problems. The reasons behind your divorce may not be so obvious. You might not even be fully aware of them if your ex-spouse is the one pursuing the divorce. These cases can be complex and tough to fully unravel. You should hire a lawyer who understands this and empathizes with you.

• Availability. While you are going through your divorce, it is probably the only thing you are really thinking about. It’s the most important thing you are currently dealing with, and you want it resolved quickly. You should consider hiring a lawyer who feels the same way about your case. Some lawyers are so bogged down with a significant caseload that they are unable to devote their full attention and resources to you. You might become an afterthought to them. That’s the last thing you should tolerate with a lawyer. You should want someone who is not dealing with a large caseload and is available to focus their attention on your case. The more cases a lawyer takes on, the harder it can be to truly be there for their clients. Your lawyer should be constantly available to you for questions, at the very least.

• Full transparency. Your lawyer should be transparent with you. You need to retain a lawyer you can completely trust to support your case, handle the legalities, and be honest with you when your case hits setbacks or starts to look like it could fail. Divorce is one of the most personal legal issues you can be involved in, and if you cannot trust your lawyer to be honest with you about every aspect of it, you may have a problem.

Grounds for Divorce

Finally, it’s natural that clients who visited us would be interested in understanding the full scope of the grounds for a divorce as per local law. So here is your answer:

Getting divorced in New York can be a long and arduous process. Even though New York has become a “no-fault” state for divorce, there are still various grounds to take that can make a divorce go smoother or make it more complex, depending on the established grounds. In addition, to pursue a divorce in New York, you must make sure that you or your spouse meet the necessary residency requirements:

• Either you or your spouse must have lived in the state of New York for at least two years before starting your divorce.
• Either you or your spouse must have lived in the state for one year before starting your divorce and:
• You were married in New York.
• You lived in New York as a married couple.
• The grounds for your divorce occurred in the state.
• Both you and your spouse were residents of the state on the day that your divorce began, and the grounds for your divorce happened in New York.

New York allows both at-fault and no-fault divorces, depending on the grounds that you wish to pursue your divorce. Here are some of the possible grounds you can use to file for divorce:

• Irreconcilable differences. This is what you would use to pursue a no-fault divorce. To use this ground to establish your divorce, the marriage must already be over for at least six months. Everything has already been discussed and divided, including child custody, asset division, alimony, and child support. You and your former spouse have reached an agreement already, and all that is left is for the court to grant you the divorce.

• Cruel treatment. To use cruel treatment as grounds for a divorce, there must be specific instances of cruel or inhuman treatment within the past five years. This does not mean arguments or disagreements. Cruel treatment means acts of physical violence, emotional abuse, gaslighting, mental distress, and a profound sense of danger for you or your children.

• Abandonment. To divorce on the grounds of marital abandonment, your spouse must have physically abandoned you for at least a year. One form of abandonment is fairly obvious. They left the home and have no intentions of returning. The other form involves refusing to be physically intimate with you. This is often called “constructive abandonment.”

• Imprisonment. If you wish to file grounds for divorce based on imprisonment, your spouse must have been in prison for at least the past three years. They must also have been put in prison after you married them. You can use this reason to file for divorce while your spouse is in prison or up to five years after their release from prison.

• Adultery. Adultery is one of the most common reasons that couples get divorced. If one spouse seeks physical relations outside of the marriage, it can cause a fundamental breakdown of trust that can be impossible to regain. To use these grounds, you simply have to prove your spouse was unfaithful during your marriage, though you will need hard, unbiased evidence that doesn’t come from you or your spouse.

No marriage is entered into with the intent of divorcing. But, sometimes, life delivers unfortunate twists, and divorce becomes not just a possibility but an inevitability. In certain cases, divorce may be the only option to not just preserve the well-being of your children but to commit to peace of mind for yourself. With the help of an experienced Brooklyn divorce lawyer, you can pursue a divorce while your lawyer helps you focus on your next steps.

Getting divorced can feel like a demoralizing defeat. However, it is important to remember that divorce can also represent a new beginning in your life. Hiring a divorce lawyer to help you keep things focused and ensure you are not taken advantage of in your divorce is very important. You need to take the proper steps to protect yourself and your financial future.

The legal team at Aronov Law NY can help you figure out the steps you should take in pursuing a divorce. We can help you build your case, establish grounds, and make sure your interests are fully protected the entire time. Contact us to schedule a consultation as soon as you can.

Map & Directions To The Aforementioned Office.

Brooklyn, NY Office: 195 Montague St, Brooklyn, NY 11201