November 28, 2005
Post By: Steven Mandel
A Comparative History of Property Law in New York State from 1980 to the Present
(in 300 words or less)
Prior to 1980, New York was a “title State”. That means, in the event of a divorce, whoever’s name the asset was in (i.e., real estate, stocks, bonds, cars, bank accounts, retirement accounts, etc.) got it. No questions were asked.
My grandparents came to New York from Europe. My grandfather controlled everything. My grandmother didn’t even have a bank account. If, after 50 years of marriage they would have gotten divorced, my grandfather would have gotten everything and my grandmother would have gotten nothing. It took us until 1980 to realize that is not fair, just or equitable.
California has Community Property. That means pretty much everything acquired during the marriage, in the event of a divorce, is divided 50/50 between the husband and the wife. Unfortunately, sometimes this results in gross inequities.
Take, for example, the boxer Mike Tyson and assume that he got married on January 1, 2005, had a fight on February 1, 2005 where he earned fifty million dollars and his wife filed for divorce on March 1, 2005. In California, his wife would receive twenty-five million dollars. Not a bad pay day for three months of marriage (even if it means having to live with Mike Tyson for that period of time).
New York State goes along with the proposition that practically everything acquired during the marriage, irrespective of whose name the asset is in, is marital (with a few exceptions such as money received via an inheritance or proceeds from an accident case). However, in a New York divorce, the Courts divide the assets equitably; and equitably does not always mean equally. There are thirteen factors the Courts look to in deciding how to divide what is classified as “marital assets”.
That is why it is critical that your attorney understands these fine distinctions to make sure that you receive all that to which you are entitled under the complex Equitable Distribution Law of the State of New York.
Steve Mandel not only knows these laws; he has mastered them.
