Marital Disputes

So you’re about to call it quits or already have. Sorry to hear that. While its never good news, the numbers provide some solace. According to the CDC, the divorce rate in New York was 2.4 per 1,000 people as of 2023 —-well, slightly a little higher with you included. 

Anyways, divorce can feel overwhelming, but in New York, many couples are able to proceed through the process in an uncontested manner. Uncontested divorces are often the fastest, least expensive, and least stressful way to dissolve a marriage. They give you control over the outcome rather than leaving it in the hands of a judge. Below are 3 common scenarios based on whether children/property are involved. 

1. Divorce Without Children or Property

This is often the simplest path. If you and your spouse have no children together and no shared property to divide, the process can move quickly. Typical tasks include:

• Analyze your unique situation and provide a strategic plan.

• Draft a general separation agreement to protect both parties.

• Prepare and file all divorce papers with the court.

• Ensure a legally binding judgment of divorce is issued. 

• Calculation of spousal support/alimony (if applicable)

Because there are no children or property involved, this type of uncontested divorce is usually the most straightforward and affordable.

2. Divorce With Children, But No Property

When children are involved, even if property isn’t, the focus shifts to custody, visitation, and child support. Expect the following considerations:

• Calculate child support and handle add-ons such as education, child care, and insurance.

• Custody Agreement;

• Visitation Agreement,

• Health Coverage Agreement;

• Calculation of spousal support/alimony (if applicable)

• Establish legally binding enforcement mechanisms to protect both parents and children.

• File all uncontested divorce paperwork and finalize the judgment.

3. Divorce With Children and Property

This is the most detailed uncontested scenario. When both children and marital property are involved, careful attention to custody, support, and asset division is required.  Common considerations/tasks include:

• Separation Agreement covering

  • Child Support

  • Custody

  • Visitation Rights

• Analyze and divide marital assets, debts, personal property, retirement accounts, and tax responsibilities. 

• Calculation of spousal support/alimony (if applicable)

• Assign responsibility for ongoing obligations like debts and insurance.

• Prepare and file all necessary paperwork with the court and obtain a judgment of divorce.

4. Court Fees

Cost of filing fees if petitioning in New York.

• $210.00 Index Number

• $150.00 Process Server

• $95.00 Request for Judicial Intervention

• $45.00 Motion or Order to Show Cause Fees

• $30.00 Note of Issue

• $35.00 Fee to File Stipulation of Settlement, or any Agreement

  *This is an estimate of court fees and does not include legal fees that may be charged by your attorney.

5. The Dreaded Alimony

In New York, alimony (also known as spousal support) is not automatically mandated. Rather, it is established by the court based on certain factors, including:

• Each party’s income and assets

• The duration of the marriage

• The parties’ age and health

• Each party’s capacity to support themselves.

  Let this be a warning. Marry a deadbeat and you’ll be carrying deadweight beyond divorce.

Defendants’ Defenses Dismissed

In Easyship v. Tea Culture Inc., Zhi E. Zeng, Sau Yeung, Ming Li, and V Express PA, Inc., I represent logistics platform Easyship in a high-stakes commercial fraud and asset-protection action seeking to recover nearly $800,000 from defendants accused of underreporting the weight of more than 200 Hong Kong shipments — paying just $40,000 for over 20,000 kg of cargo. The complaint asserts fraud, breach of contract, account stated, and fraudulent conveyance claims, including a request to unwind defendant Zhi Zeng’s 2022 transfer of his Brooklyn residence as a fraudulent conveyance.

After tracing various IP addresses, piecing together disparate email addresses, and dummy accounts, I uncovered a deed transfer and pending contract of sale, including 25 different litigations in which Zeng is a named defendant. Moving quickly to secure the Brooklyn property, I filed a notice of pendency to preserve Easyship’s rights and block the sale. After full briefing and oral argument, the Court denied defendants’ motion to dismiss in its entirety, struck all affirmative defenses, and preserved the lis pendens — locking down the Brooklyn property as a collection asset and giving Easyship maximum leverage heading into discovery and settlement negotiations.

Equity Dispute

A senior engineer at a fast-growing AI startup found himself targeted just as the company entered acquisition talks with a multi-billion-dollar public company.

Sensing an opportunity to line their pockets, MGMT launched a predatory buyback campaign — leveraging intimidation and paperwork maneuvers to claw back his vested (and unvested) equity for pennies on the dollar. At their side stood an army of corporate lawyers, eager for deployment.

I was retained to even
the playing field.

MGMT’s repurchase rights were valid only if (1) the client was terminated or (2) he missed deliverables. So they tried to have it both ways — attempting to terminate him while still assigning work; circulating unsigned agreements but insisting they governed; demanding a resignation and then sitting on an unsigned resignation letter — for months.

Too late. I intervened, dismantled their half-baked theories, and served up threats they couldn’t stomach. The appetizer was enough to sour their appetite. What came next would not go down easy.

The main course was pressure — and it forced MGMT to the table on our terms. Within two hours, MGMT offered $550,000 to settle. But we didn’t come for crumbs; we wanted the whole cake. So I cooked some more.

With 36 hours until closing and the Buyer growing hesitant, I staged a four-hour Friday-night blitz.
• Hour one: Section 220 Demand.
• Hour two: draft TRO papers.
• Hour three: a file-ready SDNY complaint.
• Hour four: a Standstill Agreement.

Outnumbered, I knew engaging too early would give MGMT time to mobilize lawyers. Instead, I waited until the eleventh hour — when only the deal team remained. Suddenly, their attorneys were scrambling to respond to filings I had spent the week fine-tuning. A weekend usually reserved for closing documents became a battlefield.

Faced with a choice — pursue a shaky equity grab and risk scrutiny, or secure a $10M acquisition — MGMT folded. They awarded my client 1M shares, exercisable at merger.

Days later, the merger closed. His stake converted from 200,000 to 1,000,000 shares — a seven-figure payout worth $1.14M.

As of Friday, September 12, 2025, I minted a new millionaire. Who’s next?