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Questions Answered by Michael E. Underwood
1 Answer | Asked in Divorce for Alabama on
Q: In the case of an emotional abusive vulnerable narcissist wife of 30 years, will I have to pay her alimony?

Disguised as anxiety and depression, my wife has finally shown her true colors as a vulnerable narcissist, admitting that she threatened suicide and even asked me to help her commit suicide because she is a drama queen and just did it for attention. Claims her anxiety and depression prevents her... View More

Michael E. Underwood
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Michael E. Underwood
answered on Jul 20, 2023

**I am a New York Attorney - so my answer only applies to laws in New York.

New York is a "no fault" state. As such, absent "shocking the conscious" claims, maintenance is determined by parties' income and a percentage of length of marriage. In other words, most of...
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1 Answer | Asked in Child Support, Divorce and Family Law for New York on
Q: My husband has supported me for 2 years as I started my business w/no salary. Will he support me until I can?

We have lived together for 6 years, 5 year old son, married for 3. After countless therapy attempts for high conflict, personality disorder and alcoholism it is time to leave for sake of son. Timing is not ideal as I have been dependent on him financially. We live in Brooklyn in a rental I could... View More

Michael E. Underwood
PREMIUM
Michael E. Underwood
answered on Sep 16, 2016

Maybe. NY divorce matters have a calculation for spousal maintenance so if there is a large difference in income between you and your spouse you may be eligible for spousal maintenance and counsel fees during your divorce matter. The duration of spousal maintenance is between 15%-30% the years of... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Divorce and Family Law for New York on
Q: I live in New York and my husband lives in Montana. What state do we file for divorce in?
Michael E. Underwood
PREMIUM
Michael E. Underwood
answered on Sep 16, 2016

Maybe either state. Not sure about Montana's laws but for NY in order to get divorced in NY:

The residency requirements for a NY divorce are:

1. The parties were married in New York, and either party lived in New York for one year prior to filing. DRL 230(1)

2. The...
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1 Answer | Asked in Divorce and Family Law for New York on
Q: My husband was injured and we go some settlement money but now we're getting a divorce.

Is that money part of anything I'll get?

Michael E. Underwood
PREMIUM
Michael E. Underwood
answered on Sep 16, 2016

Typically personal injury settlements are separate property that are not divided during a divorce. If the settlement was kept in a separate bank account, probably you are not entitled to it. If it is commingled with marital funds, it could be marital property.

1 Answer | Asked in Divorce and Family Law for New York on
Q: My spouse wants to buy me out of the our home. I don't want to sell because the appraised price come in ridiculously low

I would prefer to defer selling the house until kids turn 18 or 21. My spouse would prefer for us to not own a house together for the next 10+ years and wants to buy me out now. Can either one of us force the other person to do what they don't necessarily want legally?

We are getting a divorce.

Michael E. Underwood
PREMIUM
Michael E. Underwood
answered on Sep 16, 2016

In short - usually yes. During the equitable distribution portion of a divorce and assuming the house you are referring to was purchased during the marriage, the court typically allows 6 months to 1.5 years to refinance a mortgage on jointly owned property or otherwise have a sale. If there is a... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Family Law for New York on
Q: With presumption of parentage if the biological father comes into the picture does he have any rights?
Michael E. Underwood
PREMIUM
Michael E. Underwood
answered on Sep 16, 2016

In short, yes. As long as the child is under 21 years old, you may start a paternity proceeding to establish paternity and also have parenting time with the child depending on the circumstances.

1 Answer | Asked in Divorce for New York on
Q: If I am legally separated from my wife, can we still file joint tax returns?
Michael E. Underwood
PREMIUM
Michael E. Underwood
answered on Sep 16, 2016

Typically you are not able to still file a joint tax return as the IRS code details:

Unmarried persons. You are considered unmarried for the whole year if, on the last day of your tax year, you are either:

Unmarried, or

Legally separated from your spouse under a divorce...
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