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Cases of Interest: New York
© National Legal Research Group, Inc.

Agreements (full category)

NEW YORK: Matisoff v. Dobi, 90 N.Y.2d 127, 659 N.Y.S.2d 209 (1997).
A nuptial agreement is not enforceable if it was not acknowledged as required by statute.
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NEW YORK: Matisoff v. Dobi, ___ A.D.2d ___, 663 N.Y.S.2d 526 (1997).
The parties' expressed intention to remain financially independent of each other could be considered in equitably distributing their marital property, even though their nuptial agreement was unenforceable.
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Alimony (full category)

NEW YORK: Southwick v. Southwick, ___ A.D.2d ___, 612 N.Y.S.2d 704 (1994).
No statutory basis for including imputed earnings in the marital estate.
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Appeal (full category)

NEW YORK: Lavin v. Lavin, ___ A.D.2d ___, 694 N.Y.S.2d 243 (1999).
The husband had the right to appeal the entry of a QDRO that was proposed to implement the terms of the separation agreement, which had been incorporated but not merged into the judgment of divorce.
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NEW YORK: Roffey v. Roffey, ___ A.D.2d ___ , 630 N.Y.S.2d 114 (1995).
By accepting and disposing of assets distributed to him, the husband waived his right to challenge the equitable distribution award on appeal.
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Appreciation of Assets (full category)

NEW YORK: Chan v. Chan, ___ A.D.2d ___, 701 N.Y.S.2d 114 (1999).
The wife was entitled to 25% of the appreciation in value of the marital residence.
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NEW YORK: Allen v. Allen, ___ A.D.2d ___, 693 N.Y.S.2d 708 (1999).
Appreciation in the value of separate property due to market forces is not subject to equitable distribution, but the nontitled wife was entitled to share in an increase in value that resulted from her own efforts.
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NEW YORK: Francis v. Francis, ___ A.D.2d ___, 692 N.Y.S.2d 263 (1999).
The wife was not entitled to credit for one-half of all real estate taxes paid on the marital residence, since such taxes were paid with marital funds. The wife was entitled to the appreciation in value of the residence, however.
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NEW YORK: Spencer v. Spencer, ___ A.D.2d ___, 646 N.Y.S.2d 674 (1996).
Funds inherited by the husband were his separate property, but the increase in value of the funds due to his management of the investment was marital property.
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NEW YORK: Du Jack v. Du Jack, ___ A.D.2d ___, 632 N.Y.S.2d 895 (1995).
Part of the appreciation of the husband's interest in a family-run business from the date of the parties' marriage until the sale of the business was marital property, where the husband engaged in substantial active efforts with respect to the business, even though the sale price exceeded the value of the business under standard accounting principles.
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Attorneys (full category)

NEW YORK: Block v. Block, ___ A.D.2d ___, 685 N.Y.S.2d 443 (1999).
Contingency fee cases that the husband had commenced before the parties' divorce action were marital property, but the fees should be divided in proportion to the amount of time expended on the cases during the marriage and after the marriage rather than awarding the wife an arbitrary percentage of the fees.
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NEW YORK: Granade-Bastuck v. Bastuck, ___ A.D.2d ___, 671 N.Y.S.2d 512 (1998).
Given the wife's relatively minimal role in the husband's law career, her distributive share of his practice should be reduced from 40% to 25%.
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Attorney's Fees (full category)

NEW YORK: O'Shea v. O'Shea, 93 N.Y.2d 187, 711 N.E.2d 193 (1999).
The trial court in a matrimonial action has discretion to award attorney's fees for legal work before the formal commencement of the action and for the counsel fee hearing itself.
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NEW YORK: Maillard v. Maillard, ___ A.D.2d ___, 663 N.Y.S.2d 67 (1997).
The wife was properly precluded from offering evidence about a business venture in view of her willful, deliberate, and contumacious lack of cooperation when asked about the business at her deposition.
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Bankruptcy (full category)

NEW YORK: Sinha v. Sinha, No. 89173, 2001NY.0005490 (N.Y. App. Div. July 12, 2001).
The wife claimed that the husband's claim for equitable distribution of marital property was barred by her discharge in bankruptcy, while the husband asserted that his claim remained viable against certain property that had been declared exempt property in the bankruptcy proceeding.
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NEW YORK: Clark v. Clark, ___ A.D.2d ___, 631 N.Y.S.2d 467 (1995).
The husband's petition in bankruptcy had no effect upon the wife's interest in his pension fund, because that interest had already been equitably distributed to her.
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Child Support (full category)

NEW YORK: Sawyer v. Sawyer, ___ A.D.2d __, 702 N.Y.S.2d 688 (2000).
The husband was not entitled to a "credit" for the amount he allegedly expended to educate the wife's children from a prior marriage.
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Classification of Assets (full category)

NEW YORK: Allwell v. Allwell, ___ A.D.2d ___, 716 N.Y.S.2d 741 (2000).
The husband claimed that part of his pension represented compensation for personal injuries and thus was not subject to equitable distribution in its entirety.
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NEW YORK: Allen v. Allen, ___ A.D.2d ___, 693 N.Y.S.2d 708 (1999).
Appreciation in the value of separate property due to market forces is not subject to equitable distribution, but the nontitled wife was entitled to share in an increase in value that resulted from her own efforts.
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NEW YORK: Raniolo v. Raniolo, ___ A.D.2d ___, 612 N.Y.S.2d 589 (1994).
The trial court erred in crediting the wife with money that she had received from the sale of marital assets before commencement of the divorce action and that she had used to pay off marital debt.
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NEW YORK: Perkins v. Perkins, ___ A.D.2d ___, 641 N.Y.S.2d 396 (1996).
The husband was estopped from contending that he had any interest in a farm titled in the wife's name, where he had testified to the contrary in an earlier action by a third-party creditor against him.
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NEW YORK: Campbell v. Campbell, ___ A.D.2d ___, 624 N.Y.S.2d 493 (1995).
Where a spouse contributes with third persons to a pool of funds used to purchase a winning lottery ticket, the proceeds of the ticket constitute marital property.
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NEW YORK: Gann v. Gann, ___ Misc. 2d ___, 620 N.Y.S.2d 707 (Sup. Ct. 1994).
Payments from a disability insurance policy acquired during the marriage were the husband's separate property.
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NEW YORK: Geisel v. Geisel, ___ A.D.2d ___, 659 N.Y.S.2d 511 (1997).
The husband's inherited funds were transformed to marital property when he placed them in a mutual fund account and stock shares in the parties' names as joint tenants.
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NEW YORK: Brownell v. Brownell, ___ Misc. 2d ___, 646 N.Y.S.2d 221 (Sup. Ct. 1996).
Personal property that the parties purchased at an auction before their wedding was separate property but would nevertheless be divided equally, where it was purchased with commingled funds.
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NEW YORK: Ciaffone v. Ciaffone, ___ A.D.2d ___, 645 N.Y.S.2d 549 (1996).
Items of jewelry given to the wife by the husband during the marriage were correctly classified as marital property.
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Closely Held Corporations (full category)

NEW YORK: Myers v. Myers, ___ A.D.2d ___, 680 N.Y.S.2d 690 (1998).
The husband's interest in a family heating oil business should be discounted by 25% because of the relatively limited market for a closely held corporation.
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NEW YORK: Dempster v. Dempster, ___ A.D.2d ___, 613 N.Y.S.2d 78 (1994).
The value of a business in reorganization should be based upon its future earning capability.
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Contempt (full category)

NEW YORK: Kim v. Kim, ___ Misc. 2d ___, 652 N.Y.S.2d 694 (Sup. Ct. 1996).
The husband's deceit in failing to disclose gifts given to his alleged paramour and to his relatives and in overstating his expenses warranted a finding of contempt and a fine of $10,000.
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Corporations (full category)

NEW YORK: Wurtzel v. Wurtzel, ___ A.D.2d ___, 642 N.Y.S.2d 967 (1996).
The husband was not entitled to broad disclosure from a company owned by the wife's father, where the wife was a mere employee of the company and did not own any interest in it, the husband had failed to first obtain discovery from the wife, and the husband had failed to establish the existence of special circumstances justifying disclosure from nonparty witnesses.
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Credit (full category)

NEW YORK: Stuart v. Stuart, ___ A.D.2d ___, 712 N.Y.S.2d 190 (2000).
The husband was not entitled to any compensation for any injury to his credit rating due to the wife's use of joint credit cards during the couple's separation.
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Cutoff Date (full category)

NEW YORK: Sullivan v. Sullivan, ___ A.D.2d ___, 607 N.Y.S.2d 937 (1994).
The cutoff date for equitable distribution is the commencement of the equitable distribution proceeding, not the date at which one party obtains a judgment of divorce in another state.
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Death of Spouse (full category)

NEW YORK: In re Estate of Agliata, ___ A.D.2d ___, 636 N.Y.S.2d 255 (1995).
The right to equitable distribution survived the husband's death because the trial court had previously rendered a decision granting a divorce, even though it had not yet entered a judgment of divorce.
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Debts (full category)

NEW YORK: Bogdan v. Bogdan, ___ A.D.2d ___, 688 N.Y.S.2d 255 (1999).
The parties should be required to share equally the marital debt.
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NEW YORK: Fiedler v. Fiedler, ___ A.D.2d ___, 646 N.Y.S.2d 839 (1996).
The trial court's decision to make the husband solely responsible for tax liabilities incurred through his investments in questionable tax shelters would not be disturbed.
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Disabilty Benefits (full category)

NEW YORK: Gann v. Gann, ___ Misc. 2d ___, 620 N.Y.S.2d 707 (Sup. Ct. 1994).
Payments from a disability insurance policy acquired during the marriage were the husband's separate property.
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Discovery (full category)

NEW YORK: Robustelli v. Robustelli, ___ A.D.2d ___, 691 N.Y.S.2d 159 (1999).
The husband's delay in responding to the wife's discovery demands and his failure to object to those demands supported an inference that his failure to comply with the court-ordered demands was willful, so as to preclude him from introducing evidence of his finances at trial.
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NEW YORK: MacKinnon v. MacKinnon, ___ A.D.2d ___, 665 N.Y.S.2d 123 (1997).
A five-year time limitation on the wife's demand for disclosure of the husband's financial holdings and financial transactions was not an abuse of discretion.
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NEW YORK: Byrne v. Byrne, ___ Misc. 2d ___, 650 N.Y.S.2d 499 (Sup. Ct. 1996).
Files on a notebook computer which the husband's employer permitted him to use at home were discoverable by the wife, subject to the attorney-client privilege.
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NEW YORK: Wurtzel v. Wurtzel, ___ A.D.2d ___, 642 N.Y.S.2d 967 (1996).
The husband was not entitled to broad disclosure from a company owned by the wife's father, where the wife was a mere employee of the company and did not own any interest in it, the husband had failed to first obtain discovery from the wife, and the husband had failed to establish the existence of special circumstances justifying disclosure from nonparty witnesses.
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NEW YORK: Burns v. Burns, 84 N.Y.2d 369, 618 N.Y.S.2d 761 (1994).
The wife's proof of the value of the husband's interest in his law firm partnership should not have been limited to the value of his capital account, and she should have been allowed discovery to evaluate the value of his interest.
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Dissipation of Assets (full category)

NEW YORK: Grunfeld v. Grunfeld, ___ A.D.2d ___, 688 N.Y.S.2d 77 (1999).
The husband's trading in commodities and securities during the marriage did not constitute a dissipation of assets.
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NEW YORK: Gadomski v. Gadomski, ___ A.D.2d ___, 664 N.Y.S.2d 886 (1997).
The trial court did not err in awarding the wife an additional sum to compensate for the husband's wasteful investment of marital assets.
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Division of Property (full category)

NEW YORK: Sinha v. Sinha, No. 89173, 2001NY.0005490 (N.Y. App. Div. July 12, 2001).
The wife claimed that the husband's claim for equitable distribution of marital property was barred by her discharge in bankruptcy, while the husband asserted that his claim remained viable against certain property that had been declared exempt property in the bankruptcy proceeding.
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NEW YORK: Mattwell v. Mattwell, ___ A.D.2d ___, 600 N.Y.S.2d 98 (1993).
In dissolution of parties' long-term marriage, wife should not be awarded a greater share of marital property merely because she had been a long-term economic success and husband had been a relative economic failure.
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NEW YORK: Cooper v. Cooper, ___ A.D.2d ___, 630 N.Y.S.2d 158 (1995).
Distribution of marital funds should be based on consideration of statutory factors and not on parties' informal banking arrangement during the marriage.
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Employee Benefits (full category)

NEW YORK: Wittig v. Wittig, ___ A.D.2d ___, 685 N.Y.S.2d 342 (1999).
The amount that the husband was entitled to receive as severance pay for employment during the marriage was marital property even though no payments were made prior to the cutoff date for identifying marital property.
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NEW YORK: De Jesus v. De Jesus, ___ Misc. 2d ___, 620 N.Y.S.2d 704 (Sup. Ct. 1994).
Stock options received by the husband were wholly marital even though he could not exercise them before the commencement of the divorce action; the wife would be awarded the right to exercise one-half of the options as they matured.
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Estoppel (full category)

NEW YORK: Perkins v. Perkins, ___ A.D.2d ___, 641 N.Y.S.2d 396 (1996).
The husband was estopped from contending that he had any interest in a farm titled in the wife's name, where he had testified to the contrary in an earlier action by a third-party creditor against him.
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Evidence (full category)

NEW YORK: Maillard v. Maillard, ___ A.D.2d ___, 663 N.Y.S.2d 67 (1997).
The wife was properly precluded from offering evidence about a business venture in view of her willful, deliberate, and contumacious lack of cooperation when asked about the business at her deposition.
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Factors in Award (full category)

NEW YORK: Orofino v. Orofino, ___ A.D.2d ___, 627 N.Y.S.2d 463 (1995).
The husband's contributions in managing the parties' stock portfolio justified awarding him 60% of it, even though all other assets were divided equally.
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NEW YORK: Teich v. Teich, ___ A.D.2d ___, 658 N.Y.S.2d 599 (1997).
The husband could not be ordered to file a joint income tax return with the wife in place of the separate returns already filed or to cooperate in filing amended joint returns, but any adverse financial consequences of his failure to sign the joint or amended returns proffered by the wife could be taken into account in distributing the parties' marital property.
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Findings (full category)

NEW YORK: Hilts v. Hilts, ___ A.D.2d ___, 669 N.Y.S.2d 720 (1998).
The husband could not complain about the trial court's failure to value specific items given his inadequate testimony about his finances.
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Foreign Issues (full category)

NEW YORK: Sullivan v. Sullivan, ___ A.D.2d ___, 607 N.Y.S.2d 937 (1994).
The cutoff date for equitable distribution is the commencement of the equitable distribution proceeding, not the date at which one party obtains a judgment of divorce in another state.
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Gifts (full category)

NEW YORK: Van Dyke v. Van Dyke, ___ A.D.2d ___, 709 N.Y.S.2d 672 (2000).
The evidence was insufficient to show that the wife contributed to any increase in the value of the property that the husband had inherited from his mother, but the wife was entitled to one-half of the husband's retirement account.
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NEW YORK: Ciaffone v. Ciaffone, ___ A.D.2d ___, 645 N.Y.S.2d 549 (1996).
Items of jewelry given to the wife by the husband during the marriage were correctly classified as marital property.
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NEW YORK: McGarrity v. McGarrity, ___ A.D.2d ___, 622 N.Y.S.2d 521 (1995).
Funds inherited by the husband remained his separate property even though he deposited them into the parties' joint accounts, where he made the deposits for the sake of convenience and not with donative intent.
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NEW YORK: Damato v. Damato, ___ A.D.2d ___, 626 N.Y.S.2d 221 (1995).
Money received from the husband's parents and placed in a joint account was a gift to both parties and hence marital property.
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NEW YORK: Chase v. Chase, ___ A.D.2d ___, 618 N.Y.S.2d 94 (1994).
The husband was entitled to share equally in the value of the diamond ring which he had given to the wife.
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Goodwill (full category)

NEW YORK: Burns v. Burns, 84 N.Y.2d 369, 618 N.Y.S.2d 761 (1994).
The wife's proof of the value of the husband's interest in his law firm partnership should not have been limited to the value of his capital account, and she should have been allowed discovery to evaluate the value of his interest.
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Jurisdiction (full category)

NEW YORK: Haas v. Haas, ___ A.D.2d ___, 695 N.Y.S.2d 644 (1999).
Where the wife deposited two sums of money inherited from her father in a joint account, the money lost its character as separate property.
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Jurisdiction (full category)

NEW YORK: Riechers v. Riechers, ___ Misc. 2d ___, 679 N.Y.S.2d 233 (Sup. Ct. 1998).
The wife would be awarded one-half of the value of marital assets which the husband had placed in an irrevocable trust in a foreign jurisdiction.
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NEW YORK: Babu v. Babu, ___ A.D.2d ___, 645 N.Y.S.2d 899 (1996).
The husband's contacts with New York with respect to the parties' marriage were too attenuated to provide a constitutionally sufficient basis for jurisdiction in a matrimonial action involving a demand for financial relief in New York.
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NEW YORK: Zwerling v. Zwerling, ___ Misc. 2d ___, 636 N.Y.S.2d 595 (1995).
The wife in Israel was not properly served in accordance with the Hague Convention so as to confer personal jurisdiction over her for the purpose of equitable distribution in New York.
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Marital Home (full category)

NEW YORK: Kraeger v. Kraeger, ___ A.D.2d ___, 706 N.Y.S.2d 471 (2000).
The marital residence did not become marital property where its increase in value was primarily due to market forces and inflation, but the husband was entitled to one-half of the amount of the actual value added by improvements to the residence.
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NEW YORK: Chan v. Chan, ___ A.D.2d ___, 701 N.Y.S.2d 114 (1999).
The wife was entitled to 25% of the appreciation in value of the marital residence.
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NEW YORK: Teabout v. Teabout, ___ A.D.2d ___, 703 N.Y.S.2d 571 (2000).
The court is allowed to consider fairness in awarding equitable distribution in a dissolution proceeding, and therefore the husband could be excluded from a share in the marital home, based upon his neglectful conduct.
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NEW YORK: Rindos v. Rindos, ___ A.D.2d ___, 694 N.Y.S.2d 735 (1999).
The wife was granted exclusive use and occupancy of the marital residence until emancipation of the couple's youngest child.
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NEW YORK: Marano v. Marano, ___ A.D.2d ___, 607 N.Y.S.2d 359 (1994).
The trial court erred in ordering the immediate sale of the marital residence, where wife needed to occupy it as the custodial parent and she appeared able to maintain the residence herself.
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NEW YORK: DiSanto v. DiSanto, ___ A.D.2d ___, 604 N.Y.S.2d 413 (1993).
Decision to award marital home to wife was supported in part by evidence that husband led her to believe she would eventually receive home if she accepted relatively low support and maintenance payments during the period of separation.
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Pensions (full category)

NEW YORK: Allwell v. Allwell, ___ A.D.2d ___, 716 N.Y.S.2d 741 (2000).
The husband claimed that part of his pension represented compensation for personal injuries and thus was not subject to equitable distribution in its entirety.
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NEW YORK: Murphy v. Murphy, ___ A.D.2d ___, 693 N.Y.S.2d 699 (1999).
An award to the wife of 60% of the portion of the husband's pension plan that the parties agreed was marital property was not an abuse of discretion.
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NEW YORK: Reinheimer v. Reinheimer, ___ A.D.2d ___, 694 N.Y.S.2d 106 (1999).
Evidence concerning the husband's dates of employment supported the trial court's finding as to which multiplier to use in calculating his pension.
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NEW YORK: Zollner v. Zollner, ___ A.D.2d ___, 692 N.Y.S.2d 711 (1999).
The wife was barred from seeking equitable distribution of the husband's pension, where the husband did not opt to exercise his rights under the plan.
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NEW YORK: Mattwell v. Mattwell, ___ A.D.2d ___, 600 N.Y.S.2d 98 (1993).
In dissolution of parties' long-term marriage, wife should not be awarded a greater share of marital property merely because she had been a long-term economic success and husband had been a relative economic failure.
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Postdecree Proceedings (full category)

NEW YORK: Brody v. Brody, ___ A.D.2d ___, 609 N.Y.S.2d 191 (1994).
The bankruptcy court's characterization of the husband's debt to wife as a marital obligation of support was limited to the bankruptcy proceeding and was not binding in divorce court.
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NEW YORK: Viviano v. Allard, ___ A.D.2d ___, 611 N.Y.S.2d 666 (1994).
The wife was entitled to a postjudgment hearing to determine what portion of the money received by the husband in a class action suit for improper termination was marital property earned during the marriage.
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Preliminary Relief (full category)

NEW YORK: Maillard v. Maillard, ___ A.D.2d ___, 621 N.Y.S.2d 715 (1995).
Trial court properly issued temporary order that restrained wife from using any funds with the exception of her paycheck to satisfy her living expenses.
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NEW YORK: Rosenshein v. Rosenshein, ___ A.D.2d ___, 620 N.Y.S.2d 383 (1995).
An order appointing a receiver and granting other protection was justified by the need to protect marital assets, where the wife presented documentation of property mismanagement and the husband had agreed to sell real estate holdings.
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Professional Licenses and Degrees (full category)

NEW YORK: Halaby v. Halaby, No. 89327, 2001.NY.0008965 (N.Y. App. Div. Dec. 6, 2001).
The wife argued that the husband's post-doctoral degree increased the husband's earning potential and that this potential should be reflected in the equitable distribution decree. In this case, although the couple was married on August 3, 1996, they lived separately as the wife pursued her Bachelor's degree and the husband completed his Ph.D. in biology.
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NEW YORK: Vora v. Vora, ___ A.D.2d ___, 702 N.Y.S.2d 343 (2000).
The wife was entitled to a 10% interest in the husband's enhanced earning capacity as a physician, where the wife cared for the couple's child, provided economic support, and sacrificed her education while the husband pursued his medical license.
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NEW YORK: Murtha v. Murtha, ___ A.D.2d ___, 694 N.Y.S.2d 382 (1999).
The husband's certification as a certified financial analyst was includable in the marital estate at a value of $200,000.
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NEW YORK: McSparron v. McSparron, 87 N.Y.2d 275, 662 N.E.2d 745 (1995).
The present value of any increased earning capacity attributable to a professional license earned during marriage constitutes marital property, even after the licensee has had the time and the opportunity to realize a portion of that enhanced earning capacity.
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Professional Practices (full category)

NEW YORK: Burns v. Burns, 84 N.Y.2d 369, 618 N.Y.S.2d 761 (1994).
The wife's proof of the value of the husband's interest in his law firm partnership should not have been limited to the value of his capital account, and she should have been allowed discovery to evaluate the value of his interest.
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NEW YORK: Vicinanzo v. Vicinanzo, ___ A.D.2d ___, 598 N.Y.S.2d 362 (1993).
Trial court could value husband's solo law practice without the aid of expert testimony by averaging his annual earnings, but should have excluded an unusually large, nonrecurring fee from its calculations.
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NEW YORK: Block v. Block, ___ A.D.2d ___, 685 N.Y.S.2d 443 (1999).
Contingency fee cases that the husband had commenced before the parties' divorce action were marital property, but the fees should be divided in proportion to the amount of time expended on the cases during the marriage and after the marriage rather than awarding the wife an arbitrary percentage of the fees.
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NEW YORK: Granade-Bastuck v. Bastuck, ___ A.D.2d ___, 671 N.Y.S.2d 512 (1998).
Given the wife's relatively minimal role in the husband's law career, her distributive share of his practice should be reduced from 40% to 25%.
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Restraining Orders (full category)

NEW YORK: Maillard v. Maillard, ___ A.D.2d ___, 621 N.Y.S.2d 715 (1995).
Trial court properly issued temporary order that restrained wife from using any funds with the exception of her paycheck to satisfy her living expenses.
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Separation (full category)

NEW YORK: Brownell v. Brownell, ___ Misc. 2d ___, 646 N.Y.S.2d 221 (Sup. Ct. 1996).
Personal property that the parties purchased at an auction before their wedding was separate property but would nevertheless be divided equally, where it was purchased with commingled funds.
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NEW YORK: DiSanto v. DiSanto, ___ A.D.2d ___, 604 N.Y.S.2d 413 (1993).
Decision to award marital home to wife was supported in part by evidence that husband led her to believe she would eventually receive home if she accepted relatively low support and maintenance payments during the period of separation.
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Severance Pay (full category)

NEW YORK: Wittig v. Wittig, ___ A.D.2d ___, 685 N.Y.S.2d 342 (1999).
The amount that the husband was entitled to receive as severance pay for employment during the marriage was marital property even though no payments were made prior to the cutoff date for identifying marital property.
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Stock Options (full category)

NEW YORK: DeJesus v. DeJesus, 90 N.Y.2d 643, 665 N.Y.S.2d 36 (1997).
When classifying stock plan benefits which were conferred during the marriage but are contingent on continued employment after the marriage, the court should consider whether the benefits represent consideration for past services or an incentive for future services, and then should determine the marital portion of each component by applying time rules.
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NEW YORK: De Jesus v. De Jesus, ___ Misc. 2d ___, 620 N.Y.S.2d 704 (Sup. Ct. 1994).
Stock options received by the husband were wholly marital even though he could not exercise them before the commencement of the divorce action; the wife would be awarded the right to exercise one-half of the options as they matured.
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Stocks (full category)

NEW YORK: Finkelstein v. Finkelstein, ___ A.D.2d ___, 701 N.Y.S.2d 52 (2000).
The husband's investment accounts had to be valued as of the time of the trial, and a capital loss carry-forward that was accumulated by the couple, which could be used to reduce tax liability, constituted a marital asset subject to distribution at divorce.
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Tax Consequences (full category)

NEW YORK: Bogdan v. Bogdan, ___ A.D.2d ___, 688 N.Y.S.2d 255 (1999).
The parties should be required to share equally the marital debt.
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NEW YORK: Geisel v. Geisel, ___ A.D.2d ___, 659 N.Y.S.2d 511 (1997).
The husband's inherited funds were transformed to marital property when he placed them in a mutual fund account and stock shares in the parties' names as joint tenants.
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NEW YORK: Teich v. Teich, ___ A.D.2d ___, 658 N.Y.S.2d 599 (1997).
The husband could not be ordered to file a joint income tax return with the wife in place of the separate returns already filed or to cooperate in filing amended joint returns, but any adverse financial consequences of his failure to sign the joint or amended returns proffered by the wife could be taken into account in distributing the parties' marital property.
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NEW YORK: Hartog v. Hartog, ___ A.D.2d ___, 605 N.Y.S.2d 749 (1993).
Wife's distributive award must be reduced by her equitable share of taxes to be paid on the profit from the sale of marital assets that would have to be sold to satisfy her award.
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Third Parties (full category)

NEW YORK: Wurtzel v. Wurtzel, ___ A.D.2d ___, 642 N.Y.S.2d 967 (1996).
The husband was not entitled to broad disclosure from a company owned by the wife's father, where the wife was a mere employee of the company and did not own any interest in it, the husband had failed to first obtain discovery from the wife, and the husband had failed to establish the existence of special circumstances justifying disclosure from nonparty witnesses.
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Transmutation of Property (full category)

NEW YORK: Clark v. Clark, ___ A.D.2d ___, 683 N.Y.S.2d 255 (1999).
Tangible personal property that the husband inherited from his mother was converted from his separate property to marital property when the husband left it to the wife to choose which of the personal property in his mother's home, if any, would be selected for the parties' marital residence.
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NEW YORK: Spencer v. Spencer, ___ A.D.2d ___, 646 N.Y.S.2d 674 (1996).
Funds inherited by the husband were his separate property, but the increase in value of the funds due to his management of the investment was marital property.
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NEW YORK: McGarrity v. McGarrity, ___ A.D.2d ___, 622 N.Y.S.2d 521 (1995).
Funds inherited by the husband remained his separate property even though he deposited them into the parties' joint accounts, where he made the deposits for the sake of convenience and not with donative intent.
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Trusts (full category)

NEW YORK: Riechers v. Riechers, ___ A.D.2d ___, 701 N.Y.S.2d 113 (1999).
The trial court had the authority to determine whether assets used by the husband to create an offshore trust two years before the commencement of the divorce action were subject to equitable distribution.
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NEW YORK: Riechers v. Riechers, ___ Misc. 2d ___, 679 N.Y.S.2d 233 (Sup. Ct. 1998).
The wife would be awarded one-half of the value of marital assets which the husband had placed in an irrevocable trust in a foreign jurisdiction.
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Valuation of Property (full category)

NEW YORK: Grunfeld v. Grunfeld, 94 N.Y.2d 696, 731 N.E.2d 142 (2000).
To avoid double counting of income, the value of the husband's law practice could not be fully distributed as a marital asset without a corresponding adjustment of the maintenance award, and the valuation of the law practice at the date that the divorce action commenced, rather than at the date of trial, was appropriate.
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NEW YORK: Kraeger v. Kraeger, ___ A.D.2d ___, 706 N.Y.S.2d 471 (2000).
The marital residence did not become marital property where its increase in value was primarily due to market forces and inflation, but the husband was entitled to one-half of the amount of the actual value added by improvements to the residence.
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NEW YORK: Charland v. Charland, ___ A.D.2d ___, 700 N.Y.S.2d 254 (1999).
The trial court's valuation of the marital residence and the husband's business for purposes of equitable distribution was not an abuse of discretion.
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NEW YORK: Kerzner v. Kerzner, ___ A.D.2d ___, 694 N.Y.S.2d 49 (1999). A business solely owned by the husband was properly valued as of the date of the commencement of the dissolution action.
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NEW YORK: Vicinanzo v. Vicinanzo, ___ A.D.2d ___, 598 N.Y.S.2d 362 (1993).
Trial court could value husband's solo law practice without the aid of expert testimony by averaging his annual earnings, but should have excluded an unusually large, nonrecurring fee from its calculations.
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NEW YORK: Burns v. Burns, 84 N.Y.2d 369, 618 N.Y.S.2d 761 (1994).
The wife's proof of the value of the husband's interest in his law firm partnership should not have been limited to the value of his capital account, and she should have been allowed discovery to evaluate the value of his interest.
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NEW YORK: Maddalena v. Maddalena, ___ A.D.2d ___ , 629 N.Y.S.2d 463 (1995).
The trial court did not err when it chose a valuation date two years after the action was commenced where the couple had several times tried to reconcile after the divorce action was filed.
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NEW YORK: Hilts v. Hilts, ___ A.D.2d ___, 669 N.Y.S.2d 720 (1998).
The husband could not complain about the trial court's failure to value specific items given his inadequate testimony about his finances.
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