Felder – nicknamed “Dr. Estranged Love” (GQ magazine) and the “Duke of Divorce” (Us magazine) – was all set to represent model/actress Stephanie Seymour in her divorce proceedings against Greenwich publisher and art collector Peter Brant in a case so seemingly contentious and sensational that Vanity Fair was salivating over who would get custody of the three children and the artwork, to say nothing of the sconces. (That must be some wall decor.)
Then in a blow to cynics everywhere, one of Cupid’s arrows aimed true. On Sept. 20, 2010, the couple announced they were reconciling. All’s well that ends well.
Unfortunately, that is not the case for every couple. According to divorcerate.org, 41 percent of first marriages in this country end in divorce; 60 percent of second marriages and 73 percent of third marriages. (Clearly, the third time isn’t the charm, and if you’re still at it after that, well, apparently no one cares.)
This means that at some point in your life, you may need the services of Felder, Lynn J. Maier or Faith G. Miller, the three matrimonial and family lawyers WAG contacted to bring us up to speed on the state of disunion.
First, the good news for New Yorkers eager to untie the knot: They can now get divorced on the grounds of irreconcilable differences.
“New York finally evolved, and we are now in the 21st century,” says Maier, a partner in the White Plains firm of Kurzman Eisenberg Corbin & Lever, LLP.
Time was when the only grounds for divorce in New York state were cruelty, abandonment and adultery. Now New York has joined Connecticut, New Jersey and the rest of the nation in allowing no-fault divorce, which cuts down on the mud-slinging that clogs the legal machinery – at least in theory.
Level playing field?
Many of the changes with regard to divorce revolve around the law’s response to societal shifts, in particular the ascendance of women in our post-feminist age. Today, women are the primary breadwinners in the United States – although this may have less to do with strides toward equality than the fact that they are still paid less than men and tend to dominate professions such as education and health care that were less affected by the recession. They’ve also made an easier transition from a manufacturing- to an information-based economy.
Latest Comments