What you need to know about divorce in the United States

ForumDaily continues a series of materials on legal topics to help immigrants understand the peculiarities of life in the United States. Divorce is an extremely difficult decision and quite a complex legal process, even in your home country. This is even more difficult in immigration: the stress of breaking up a relationship with a spouse is complicated by uncertainty about one’s future, ignorance of the laws of the country, and the inability to fully describe the situation in a non-native language.

Collage: ForumDaily

In this case, a Russian-speaking lawyer who is fluent in English will be an excellent help - he will understand the client and will be able to conduct the case in English.

Such is Yuri Yaroslavskyworking in the law firm of Dmitry Levitsky in Brooklyn. He helped many immigrants and Americans to resolve issues related to the divorce process, child custody, family violence, etc.

We asked him a few questions about how to act during a divorce and solve many other problems in this area.

Where to start if you have decided to divorce?

Before consulting with a lawyer, it is important to make an inventory of your assets, including those accumulated before and during the marriage. It is true that assets acquired before marriage are considered separate property. However, they may become part of the family property under certain circumstances.

If you have children, it is also important to determine who will be the main guardian. One of the most difficult decisions is finding out who will remain in the current place of residence and who will move. It may be necessary to take measures in order for one spouse to “buy out” a part of the house from another and transfer ownership of the property. All these issues are best addressed with the help of a lawyer, even if you have reached agreement with your spouse or wife, because there are many nuances that the spouses themselves cannot take into account even with the best of intentions.

For example, there is a misconception that in determining the future place of residence of the child (children), the court decides in favor of the mother. This is not true. The court in its decision is guided by the interests of children, and not divorcing parents. This takes into account many factors, such as the desire of the child himself, the financial situation of the parents, the place and living conditions, the presence of bad habits of the parents, etc. And here the role of a lawyer in competent evidence of the advantages of his client is invaluable.

In addition, the lawyer will help to find the court’s undeclared income or hidden funds (even cash), which the other side is trying to conceal from the fair division, to resolve the issue of material assistance to the former spouse in the event of illness or disability.

On the subject: Why you should immediately call a lawyer if you are injured

How long can a divorce last in New York?

A number of factors affect how long it takes to get a divorce in New York. In particular, the following may affect the duration of the divorce:

— whether the divorce is finalized by mutual consent or not;

- whether there are children in the family;

— whether the couple owns property.

It also matters how quickly your spouse returns the relevant documents and how loaded the courts are at the moment. In short, a divorce by agreement of the parties in New York can be completed in six weeks. In other cases, divorce may take three months or more. It should be borne in mind that each additional problem may delay the settlement of the divorce.

A lawyer specializing in divorce proceedings can simplify the registration of a divorce, reduce the amount of stress that the parties experience, and speed up the procedure.

Фото: Depositphotos

How to deal with domestic violence in the family?

The first step is to report the incident and try to prevent it from recurring by obtaining an Order of Protection with the help of a lawyer, which is issued by the court to limit the behavior of someone who causes harm or threatens to harm another person. It is used to address various types of security issues, including in cases of family violence.

How effective is such an order, and will it be an effective defense for the injured party?

The protection order does not provide armed protection for the injured party, but it is effective against those who do not want to be arrested and sent to prison.

What specifically can prevent Order of protection?

Order of protection is often used when it comes to domestic violence, although it can be used to address a wide range of security issues.

This order is designed for a specific situation and, as a rule, obliges the offender not to disturb, threaten or harm the victim or his family members. If you lived with the person indicated in such an order, and you want to take your things from his house, the police will accompany you.

The conditions specified in the protection order may include:

- ordering the subject to leave your home;

- an obligation to stay away from you and anyone else specified in the order;

- payment of alimony;

- ordering the subject to comply with custody orders;

- ban on gun ownership.

What happens to someone who violates protection orders?

In this case, the offender may:

- be arrested and sent to prison;

- be charged with a more serious crime that could result in a longer prison sentence or imprisonment;

- His weapons may be confiscated.

It is a crime to violate a protective order and the victim should call the police immediately rather than wait until they are assaulted.

Фото: Depositphotos

Can customers lie about domestic violence for the sake of some benefit, and how to act in this case?

In my practice, there were cases when women who did not have a legal status of staying in America went to marry a US citizen not for the purpose of creating a family, but for the purpose of legalization. A few months later, these pseudo spouses went to the police, pretending to be victims of domestic violence. They demanded the Order of protection, tried to evict the husband from the apartment, to sue part of his property. After the divorce, they were counting on the US law on violence against women, adopted in 1994, which allows survivors of domestic violence, whose immigration status depends on the nationality of their spouse, to apply for immigration status on their own. This law allows for survivors of domestic violence to receive a deferment from deportation and become lawful permanent residents of the country.

I do not want to say that all women without status use similar methods, but men should be especially vigilant when deciding to marry illegal immigrants. If the situation described above occurs, you should immediately seek legal assistance from a lawyer. There is no need to despair, there is no need to admit your guilt, there is no need to deny obvious facts so as not to harm yourself. You must insist on your right to meet with a lawyer and testify only in his presence. Believe my experience, your situation is not at all hopeless; in the courts I have repeatedly been able to expose the true motives of the actions of ex-wives. The main thing is not to do anything stupid before a lawyer gets involved.

Yuri Yaroslavsky

Attorney and Counselor at Law

Contacts:

[email protected]

Read also on ForumDaily:

Mistakes that migrants make when moving

An immigrant 31 was arrested during an immigration raid in New York, among them a Ukrainian

Trump's innovation: immigrants and their sponsors will have to reimburse the government money for social assistance received

Former US Assistant Secretary of State was denied a Russian visa

Participation in the lottery green card and marriage: is it possible to change the marital status in the process of drawing and receiving a green card

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.