It’s finally started, either you or your spouse has pulled the trigger and commenced a Divorce action on Long Island, New York. When a divorce is commenced in New York State, Automatic Court Orders are put in place. The Automatic Orders are Court Orders, which prohibit certain activities immediately upon commencement of the action and each party is directed to follow them.
The Automatic Orders essentially state that both parties must maintain the “status quo” except in the case of mutual written agreement between the parties or further Court Order. Some of the Automatic Orders are that neither party can sell or dispose of marital assets; neither party can withdraw, transfer, or dispose of any money from their bank accounts, stocks, mutual funds or cash accounts that is not within the ordinary course of business or for customary household expenses; neither party can withdraw money or take loans from their retirement accounts; neither party can cancel the health insurance, the dental insurance, the optical insurance, or the automobile insurance or change beneficiaries on their life insurances and retirement accounts. So you can’t sell your spouses car out from under them, but you can pay your kids tuition.
The Automatic Orders go into effect for the Plaintiff the day that the Summons and Complaint commencing your divorce action is filed. However, the Automatic Orders do not go into effect for the Defendant until they are personally served with the Summons and Complaint and become aware of the orders contained in the documents they were served.
If either party violates any of the Automatic Orders, there are certain legal steps that can be taken to rectify the issue. In Suffolk County, an Order to Show Cause for Contempt of Court can be filed in order to hold one party in contempt for violating the Automatic Orders.
If you have further questions pertaining to the Automatic Orders, how they will affect you or if your spouse has already violated same after an action has been commenced please contact Suffolk County Divorce Lawyer Christopher Palermo directly at his office 631-265-1051 in order to schedule your free consultation.