General News Point

Divorce filings have skyrocketed from quarantine-weary and financially stressed couples and many couples have chosen to end their relationship.

Tension bred by forced proximity is only one reason cited for a spike in divorce after the COVID-19 crisis, financial stains, substance abuse and depression have all fueled a spike in relationship stressors.

Kevin M MacKay, Hudson Valley divorce attorney, graduated from Albany Law School and was admitted to the New York State and Connecticut Bars in 1993.  He began his career as Prosecutor for the Dutchess County District Attorney’s office and has been handling family and matrimonial matters for over 25 years.

Attorney Kevin is an experienced litigation attorney having handled hundreds of Jury and Bench Trials and concentrates in the areas of Matrimonial, Family Law, Criminal Defense and Civil Litigation.

First of all not everyone understands the difference between Divorce law and Family law, so we asked Mr. MacKay to explain it.

”Family law is the area of law that deals with child custody, family offenses, paternity, spousal support, child support and issues related to the parties children and is handled in a family court in front of a family court judge or support court magistrate.  Divorce is handled in Supreme Court and will handle not only issues involving the children but alimony and the division of assets and debts.”

What is the difference between a Divorce Lawyer or Family Law Attorney?

Both divorce and family law attorneys typically handle matters far beyond marriage break-ups. They may handle disputes involving unmarried parties who co-habit, as well as child support matters and other family related legal issues like: alimony disputes, complex child custody and support cases, domestic violence cases, premarital, post marital, and separation agreements, grandparent and nonparent child custody or visitation cases, juvenile court matters, adoptions or even termination of parental rights.  There are some attorneys who remain in family court, some who do only divorce, I appear in both Courts.

So, if a family member comes to you with one of these issues, will his problems be resolved with your help in Court?

When people are hiring an attorney it doesn’t always mean that they want to sort their family issues in court, there are various Alternative Dispute Resolutions and there is also the Uncontested Divorce.  It is always my intention to try and resolve differences outside of Court as this leads to a more lasting and amicable resolution.  This is not always the case and it may be necessary to go to Court to resolve the issue.  I would love to say that I resolve every issue the way a client wants but the risk of litigation is it will be a Judge and not the parties who resolve the issue.  That being said, I appear and litigate many divorces and family court matters that can’t be resolved through agreement.

 What is an Uncontested Divorce?

Uncontested divorces are generally available to couples who have no remaining disagreements regarding the basic divorce issues, basically it is a divorce based upon the parties having resolved all of their issues regarding their separation without the aid of an attorney or the court.  The attorney is hired to prepare the agreement to reflect the parties understanding of their respective agreement to settle and the parities go on the uncontested matrimonial calendar with a signed agreement and accompanying judgement of divorce.              

New York is a No Fault state meaning you do not need to have grounds for divorce and can claim the marriage after 6 months is no longer recoverable.  I have many initial clients’ that confuse no fault as uncontested.  No fault only means that you both agree or one party agrees the marriage is over and files a divorce under the no fault claim.  You still must resolve all the issues of the marriage including custody, spousal maintenance and the division of assets and debts referred to as equitable distribution.  With the agreement on all of these the divorce is contested.

And finally, is it true, that Dutchess County courts are flooded with divorce requests after the Covid-19 crisis?

The Courts are backlogged as a result of Covid 19 and the resources of the Judiciary are stretched to their limit.  It is more important than ever to hire an attorney to navigate the judicial process since Courts are refusing or are unable to conduct trials and are only now opening after 6 months of limited hearings of cases.  I have had to use all the skills I have accumulated in 25 years of family and matrimonial law to find solutions to complex problems never experienced in the Courts before and pick whether Family Court, Supreme Court or negation is the best avenue to resolve a case in this difficult time. 

Contact Detail:

Company Name: Law office of Kevin M. MacKay
Contact Person: Media Relations
Email: Send Email
Phone No: +1 8454620001
Address: 12 Walker Rd
City: Poughkeepsie
State: New York 12603
Country: United States
Website Url: https://smandb.com/