Law Offices of Daniel Clement, P.C.

selected for Super Lawyers

Wonderful and uplifting way to spend Valentine’s Day - sitting divorce court, waiting for your case to be heard, and listening to the tales of loving marriages gone bad

But it is how I make a living

I Was Served With Divorce Papers, What Do I Do?

It is 6 a.m., and there is a knock on the door. It is a process server sent by your soon-to-be ex to personally serve you with the summons for divorce. What do you do?

I Was Served With Divorce Papers, What Do I Do? What do do when you are served with a summons for divorce? Call New York divorce attorney Daniel Clement for help.

How To Avoid Losing Child Custody: 10 Important Tips

Plot a course to avoid the landmines that would result in you losing custody of your children.

How To Avoid Losing Child Custody: 10 Important Tips - Don't lose custody of your children. 10 Tips to win custody of your children in a New York divorce. Call Daniel Clement 212-683-9551.

Modifying Child Custody in New York: When Co-Parenting Is Not Working

Modifying Child Custody in New York: When Co-Parenting Is Not Working - Daniel Clement Modifying child custody in New York. How to change joint custody parenting agreements and orders. Call 212-683-9551

How do you get through the holidays when you know you are going to divorce?

How To Get Through The Holidays When You Know You Are Going To Divorce? - Daniel Clement How to get through the holidays when you know you are going to divorce? Planning for divorce around the holidays. Daniel Clement 212-683-9551

7 Facts About Divorce

The breakup of a marriage has economic, emotional, and psychological consequences. Often, parties start a divorce blindly without considering or understanding the impact divorce will have on their lives. Before consulting with a New York divorce attorney, you should know these seven facts about divorce . . .: https://bit.ly/3Uk9YeI

Quoted in the Huffington Post

Want To Get A Divorce? Here's What To Do First, According To Lawyers Divorce attorneys give advice on the first steps to take once you've made the decision to split up.

How to present a winning image in Court.
https://clementlaw.com/how-to-present-a-winning-image-in-divorce-court/

Dressing for Success at Divorce Court | Clement Law | NYC Divorce Lawyer Take it from New York Divorce Lawyer Daniel Clement: In divorce court, first impressions are everything! What should you never wear in a court for divorce? Read more...

Covid Vaccination Raises Custody Issues In New York



https://clementlaw.com/covid-vaccination-and-issues-with-child-custody/

Mirroring the national debate, covid vaccination has become an issue in divorce and child custody cases. New York courts are now being forced to grabble with issues in custody and parenting cases when children's parents cannot agree about either their or their children's vaccination status. The Courts need to intervene in the myriad issues where parental rights intersect with medical decisions for their children . . .

Covid Vaccination Raises Issues in New York Custody Cases Can a Court order a child vaccinated over a parent's objection? Can a Court suspend parenting time if a parent refuses to get vaccinated?

7 Tips on How to Make the Most of Your Virtual Court Appearance !
In the past year, the legal landscape has changed. For now and for the foreseeable future, most court appearances in divorce cases in New York will be virtual and will not be conducted in person.

So, what do you need to know to make the most out of your virtual court appearance?

In this video learn 7 tips on how to make the most of your virtual court appearance in your New York divorce.

In short, you should not take your virtual court appearance casually just because you did not have to leave your home to appear in Court. The Court rulings are as effective and as enforceable as if you were physically present in the courtroom. You should act and appear as if you are physically present in the courthouse.

7 Tips on How to Make the Most of Your Virtual Court Appearance In the past year, the legal landscape has changed. For now and for the foreseeable future, most court appearances in divorce cases in New York will be virt...

How to Fill Out Your Net Worth Statement in Your New York Divorce
If there is a single most important document in connection with your divorce, it would be the statement of net worth. So what is it, and how do you fill it out?

A net worth statement is a document prepared at the beginning of a case and, as its name suggests, sets forth your net worth. The document forces you to disclose your assets, your liabilities, your income, and your expenses.
So why is this document so important?

First, you're swearing to its truth under penalty of perjury. That means if you make a misstatement, material omission of fact, or a misrepresentation, your spouse or his or her attorney will be able to use it to impeach your credibility at trial. Since most cases boil down to "he said, she said," it's vital that you maintain your credibility. If the judge hearing your case does not believe you, you will be fighting an uphill battle at trial, and you are likely not to win. And, quite frankly, it can be quite humiliating and embarrassing to be caught in a lie at your deposition or at trial.
Since the same rules apply to your spouse, you should carefully scrutinize your spouse's net worth statements. Look for any errors, omissions, distortions, inaccuracies, or anything that causes you concern, and report it to your attorney.

A net worth statement is a roadmap to the financial issues of divorce. Presumably, between you and your spouse, the combined net worth statements should provide a good snapshot of the economics of the marriage. All the income, expenses, assets and liabilities should have been disclosed. Using the net worth statements, we can carefully tailor other discovery requests to uncover any undisclosed assets. The net worth statement can also be used as a blueprint for any settlement negotiations.

The net worth statement is required to be filed prior to the preliminary conference, the first opportunity we have before the judge, and in connection with any application for spousal maintenance, child support and counsel fees. The idea is that the net worth statement will provide the court with a snapshot of the marital finances and the parties' respective needs. Because of the importance of the net worth statement, you must pay careful attention to completing it.

So what is the net worth statement?

As you can see, the net worth statement is made as of a specific date, under penalty of perjury. The first section is the family data section. In this part of the document, you supply biographical information including dates of birth, date married, and the names and dates of the birth of your children.

In order to prepare this expense section of the net worth statement, you must examine and rely on your bills and records. Examine two, three, four months of bills, and average them together to derive at numbers that you use to complete this section. Do not makeup or guesstimate the expenses. It's easy to impeach someone on overstated or understated expenses.

As you can see, this section is a fairly comprehensive listing of expenses, including housing, utilities, food and groceries, automotive, religious, educational, recreational, and miscellaneous, including barber or beauty salon, toiletries, books, and magazines.

The income section should be a fairly easy section to complete if you're a W2 employee. You can rely on your W2 income to answer this line. But if you are a solo practitioner, an owner of a closely held corporation or in a partnership, you need to ask your attorney for advice on completing this section.
The income section, as you can see, is not limited to salary income. It includes investment income, retirement assets, and other types of income.

The next section is the assets section. As you can see, information is sought regarding your various assets, including checking and savings accounts, investment accounts, real estate. You should not make up numbers for the value of these assets. You should, again, rely on your financial statements. When it comes to putting in values for things like your home, or other real estate, don't guess! You can put "to be determined"," unknown" or just leave the line blank.

The next section asks you to detail all your liabilities, including your credit cards and other liabilities. The form seeks a description of the liability, the current balance, and in whose name is the debt.
In both the assets and your liabilities sections of the net worth statement, you should include assets or liabilities that are also in your spouse's name, which you believe are marital.

the net worth statement is signed by you, before a notary, and then certified by your attorney. When you file it, you are required to submit not only the net worth statement, but your attorney's retainer agreement and your tax returns.

The net worth statement is a comprehensive and complex document. Because of its importance, you should not take its preparation lightly and should only complete this document with your attorney's advice.

How to Fill Out Your Net Worth Statement in Your New York Divorce If there is a single most important document in connection with your divorce, it would be the statement of net worth. So what is it, and how do you fill it o...