Divorce

To try to get some information for you, I looked online to see if I could find a description of what to expect from the NY Courts website but I couldn’t fine one. So, I looked at a couple of private law firms’ websites and other private websites.  Although we are not affiliated with these sites and I cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information contained in them, I wanted to pass them along to you so that you can see what they say.  Here is the first one - beginning in the 3rd paragraph, it discusses what to expect at a preliminary conference/hearing:   http://www.spodeklawgroup.com/preliminary-conference-new-york-divorce-ca…  I sent this description to a colleague of mine who worked at a NYC non-profit doing divorces and asked her if it seemed accurate and she told me that it was a good description of what one can expect.  She also explained to me the following important information, which I want to pass along to you:
“It’s also important to know that there is a preliminary conference form (“PC” form) that is filled out as a result of the preliminary conference - you can see the form here: https://www.nycourts.gov/courts/1jd/supctmanh/PC-Matri.pdf  Litigants need to be careful filling these out and signing them because they are binding for the rest of the case. In other words, if a litigant marks custody “resolved” in the PC order, s/he can’t go back later and say that it’s “unresolved” unless there is a change of circumstances (in other words, a person can’t just change his/her mind). Also, some judges do the PC’s themselves but most judges ask their court attorney to do it and the parties don’t speak to the judge until the end of the PC - and then they only talk to the judge usually for two minutes right before the PC order is signed. Litigants should know that the court attorney basically serves as the “eyes and ears” of the judge. When they are speaking to the court attorney, they need to understand that she or he will inform the judge about the case. During the PC, they may hear the judge or court attorney give an opinion about what they think should happen during the case. This is because the judge/court attorney wants to encourage negotiations and settlement.”

Sonia, later, after I received her email, I also found this website that gives similar information in a different format: http://sasforwomen.com/divorce-in-ny-what-to-expect-when-you-go-to-court…  Again, WomensLaw is not affiliated with this website and I can’t say if the information is accurate or not. 

We have other information on divorce in NY on our website here in case it’s helpful: http://www.womenslaw.org//laws_state_type.php?id=8252&state_code=NY&lang=en and here is a link for lawyer referrals and legal non-profit organizations in case you want to try to get legal representation:
http://www.womenslaw.org//gethelp_state_type.php?type_id=1169&state_code…