NYLE Matrimonial & Family Law 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under New York's equitable distribution law, when is a court NOT required to make an equal division of marital property?
- When the marriage lasted fewer than 10 years
- Always — equitable distribution means fair, not necessarily equal (Correct answer)
- When one spouse committed adultery
- When one spouse earns significantly more than the other
Correct answer: Always — equitable distribution means fair, not necessarily equal
Equitable distribution means just and fair, not necessarily 50/50; courts consider statutory factors to reach a distribution that is equitable under the circumstances.
Question 2: A New York court orders a parent to pay child support. The obligor parent later becomes voluntarily unemployed. How will the court likely treat the obligor's income for support purposes?
- Support is automatically suspended during unemployment
- The court will impute income based on earning capacity (Correct answer)
- Support is recalculated using only actual unemployment benefits
- The other parent must absorb the full support obligation
Correct answer: The court will impute income based on earning capacity
New York courts may impute income to a voluntarily unemployed or underemployed parent based on that parent's earning capacity to prevent support evasion.
Question 3: In a New York divorce proceeding, the court appoints an attorney for the child (AFC) in a custody dispute. The AFC's primary obligation is to:
- Advocate for the child's best interests as determined by the AFC
- Advocate for the child's expressed wishes unless doing so would be harmful (Correct answer)
- Advise the court without taking any side
- Represent whichever parent the child currently lives with
Correct answer: Advocate for the child's expressed wishes unless doing so would be harmful
Under 22 NYCRR Part 7, the attorney for the child is required to zealously advocate for the child's expressed wishes, substituting the AFC's judgment only when the child lacks capacity or advocacy would cause serious harm.
Question 4: Which of the following would most likely constitute 'cruel and inhuman treatment' sufficient for a fault divorce in New York?
- A single incident of verbal criticism during an argument
- A pattern of physical or emotional abuse that endangers physical or mental well-being (Correct answer)
- Incompatibility and growing apart over time
- One spouse's refusal to engage in social activities
Correct answer: A pattern of physical or emotional abuse that endangers physical or mental well-being
Cruel and inhuman treatment requires a course of conduct that endangers the physical or mental well-being of the complaining spouse, making continued cohabitation unsafe or improper.
Question 5: Under the CSSA, which of the following is NOT automatically included in the basic child support calculation?
- Health insurance premium costs
- Educational expenses for private school (Correct answer)
- The income percentage applied to combined parental income
- Childcare expenses reasonably necessary for a parent's employment
Correct answer: Educational expenses for private school
Private school educational expenses are an add-on that courts may order in addition to basic child support, not an automatic component of the base calculation.
Question 6: A New York divorce judgment is silent on the disposition of the marital home. What is the most likely result regarding the property?
- Title vests automatically in the spouse who remained in the home
- The property remains as held at the time of divorce subject to future partition proceedings
- The state acquires the property by operation of law
- The property converts to tenancy in common between the former spouses (Correct answer)
Correct answer: The property converts to tenancy in common between the former spouses
When a divorce judgment does not address real property held in tenancy by the entirety, the divorce severs the tenancy, converting it to a tenancy in common, subject to a partition action.
Question 7: Under New York law, a court may order termination of parental rights (TPR) in a neglect proceeding when a child has been in foster care for:
- 6 of the last 12 months
- 12 of the most recent 22 months
- 15 of the most recent 22 months (Correct answer)
- 24 consecutive months
Correct answer: 15 of the most recent 22 months
Under Social Services Law §384-b and the Adoption and Safe Families Act, TPR proceedings may be initiated when a child has been in foster care for 15 of the most recent 22 months.
NYLE Matrimonial & Family Law 5
Under New York's equitable distribution law, when is a court NOT required to make an equal division of marital property?