A Leader with Few Followers: New York on Family Law

A new law in New York, partially effective this week, will reform alimony law and reverse a longstanding rule of marital property that helped earn New York the label “a leader with few followers.” The new law was precipitated by New York’s adoption of a true nofault divorce law in 2010 and alimony reform that was demanded as a compromise by opponents. The 2010 changes were controversial, perhaps even more so after they went into effect. Now, five years later, parties on different sides of the debate have agreed on a different compromise going forward. And, almost as a side note, the legislature abandoned one of New York’s most unique rules of divorce—that professional degrees acquired during marriage are a divisible asset