Should I Get an Annulment? Or a Divorce?

In certain situations, it makes more sense to seek an annulment versus a divorce.

An annulment action in New York State is lawsuit filed in court seeking to dissolve a marriage on the ground that the marriage is voidable by court order based on certain grounds.

What is the effect of an annulment?

The main effect is that the parties may consider themselves to have not been married. In other words, they can truthfully say, "I was never married". There can still be custody and child support orders if there are minor children born during the marriage. There will not be an order of support. In addition, the Court can makes orders to distribute property.

What is the difference between annulment and divorce?

• An order of annulment means that one party has established that the marriage is not legally valid. A divorce, on the other hand, ends a legally valid marriage.
• As mentioned above, the Court cannot order spousal support if the marriage is annulled. No marriage equals no spousal support.
• The grounds for annulments are more difficult to establish than grounds for divorce. The process can be costlier and lengthier, but often it is worth it.

What are the grounds for annulment?

There are five grounds upon which a party to a marriage may seek to have the marriage annulled:

• Under age of consent—If either or both parties to a marriage are under 18, that party, one of his or her parents or guardian (or any other person the court allows) may seek to have the marriage annulled. The right to seek annulment on this ground ceases once the spouse at issue has turned 18. Annulment on this ground is granted at the discretion of the court considering all the circumstances of the marriage.
• Mental incapacity—If a party to a marriage is mentally ill or otherwise mentally incapacitated and was unable to give informed consent to the marriage, any relative with an interest in seeing the marriage annulled may do so while either spouse is alive.
• Marriage Not Consummated—An action for annulment may be brought by either party before five years have elapsed from the date of marriage if one party has a continuing physical incapacity that causes that person to be unable to have sexual intercourse. The action may be brought by the non-impaired person, or even the impaired person, so long as that person did not know of his or her incapacity at the time of the marriage.
• Force, duress, or fraud—An action for annulment may be brought by a party to a marriage who alleges that his or her consent to the marriage was obtained by force, duress, or fraud. Examples of fraudulent marriages include:
• Marrying to obtain immigration status (green card);
• Claiming to be pregnant to entice someone to marry;
• Claiming you want to have children when you really don't.

• Incurable mental illness for a period of five years or more—An action for annulment may be brought by either party to a marriage or anyone acting on his or her behalf where one party to the marriage has become incurably mentally ill, and the illness has persisted for five years or more.

My office offers a free consultation on these issues, and any other family law issue. Call (516) 773 8300, or Email: Jackie@lawjaw.com.

Islamic Marriage Contracts and Divorce

An Islamic marriage contract can also be referred to as “Mehrieh” or “Mahr”. (Also known as Katb el-Kitab in Arabic and Nikah-Nama in Urdu.) A Mehrieh is a formal, binding contract considered an integral part of an Islamic marriage, and outlines the rights and responsibilities of the groom and bride or other parties involved in marriage proceedings.

I have encountered several legal issues involving Mehrieh agreements in my New York divorce practice, mostly with Iranian clients, but also clients from Egypt and Turkey. I have found that for the most part, Islamic marriage contracts are treated as prenuptial agreements in Court. In many Mehrieh agreements, the groom agrees to pay a sum of money to the bride upon her demand (often valued in terms of solid gold coins or other bank guaranteed currency). The Mehrieh often includes symbolic gifts such a mirror, a copy of the Koran, objects of silver, or a carpet.

Before the wedding (the “Aghd”), the groom and the bride’s father negotiate the Mehrieh, and it is signed before witnesses. In Sunni Islam, a marriage contract must have two male witnesses. In Shia Islam, witnesses to a marriage are deemed necessary, but in case they are not available, then the bride and groom may enter into the contract between themselves.

Upon the civil divorce, the Mehrieh will be enforced as a contract. As long as the contract is witnessed properly, it is usually enforced in New York Courts. Due to the very high price of gold coins recently, I have seen Mehrieh agreements that are worth close to a million dollars!

In Islam, in order to get a religious divorce, the parties must cooperate together and appear simultaneously before a religious tribunal to make a formal request. In the Islamic faith, the husband and wife must go to the mosque together. A portion of the Koran is read, and the religious divorce is granted officially. (The process for a Jewish divorce (a “Get”) is very similar.)

Even if there is a civil divorce that gets finalized through Judgment in the United States, without a religious divorce, an observant Islamic woman would not be able to remarry. Even worse, if a woman travels back to her native country, without having obtained her religious divorce, a husband can legally withhold permission for her (or her children) to leave the country. It can even subject the woman to penalties, even death, if there are charges of adultery against her. Therefore, it is critical to obtain both the civil and religious divorce.

For Muslims, to get a religious divorce that will be recognized in Iran, the parties must appear before an embassy, which creates a difficulty since the United States does not have an Iranian embassy. Therefore, the parties must appear at the Pakistani Embassy in Washington DC, which has an “Iranian Interests” department.

How Long Does it Take to Get Divorced?!?

This question is asked at virtually every consultation with a new client.  For some reason, people seem to underestimate how long the divorce process will take.

Clients are always surprised to hear that even the simplest, easiest, friendliest, "no fault" "out-of-court" divorce can take several months.

This is due to the fact that even after you reach a settlement, it takes the court system a long time to process the paperwork and finalize the decree.  Depending on the venue of the filing, the processing time can take between 3 months and 8 months.

A divorce is a marathon, not a sprint.

If you and your spouse do not see eye-to-eye on the issues of child custody and support, your divorce will take closer to one year to get resolved. (This is due to the lengthier negotiations that these issues often entail.)

If your case involves the issue of spousal support, or the valuation of a business, your divorce will take, on average, up to two years.  (This is due court proceedings, valuations and experts, which complicate and lengthen the timeline of the case.)

A contested custody case can also take up to two years.

In general, the longer the case takes, the more it will cost.
Keep these time frames into account and pace yourself accordingly.

For a free consultation, contact Jacqueline Harounian at Jackie@lawjaw.com.

When Love Hurts - Domestic Violence

If you have been following the Mel Gibson saga playing out on the internet and other media, and heard the tapes and seen the photos, it is increasingly apparent that Mel Gibson is a violent batterer. Too often, the victim is not believed, and for this reason, avoids going to authorities. In this case, the alleged victim has an abundance of proof, and the courage it seems to assert her claims against a mega celebrity.

Please read the article I wrote below on domestic violence. If you are a victim, or know someone who is, get help immediately.



WHEN LOVE HURTS

"Don’t compromise yourself. You’re all you’ve got."-- Janis Joplin
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What is domestic violence?
Domestic violence is a pattern of controlling and coercive behavior which can involve physical, sexual, emotional, and psychological abuse. Domestic violence is not only evidenced or experienced by broken bones, bruises, and black eyes. It can be slaps and shoves, as well as threats, with or without a weapon. It can be economic control and emotional humiliation that causes harm to the victim.
Who is affected?
Domestic violence affects people who are married or dating, and can occur between parents and children. It affects people from all social, economic, racial, religious and ethnic groups. It knows no boundaries. It occurs in affluent areas with as much frequency as in the inner cities. It is just more carefully hidden, and much more stigmatized. While anyone can be a victim of domestic violence, women are by far the most common victims. The statistics from the National Institute of Justice indicate that 95% of victims are female, and 95% of perpetrators are male. This translates to millions of women being abused by their partners each year. In many cases, the abusers are men in positions of authority and respect in their work and careers.
My law firm sponsors regular workshops for mental health professionals on family law issues, including domestic violence and its effect on families. One of our guest speakers was Lois Schwaeber, Esq., of the Nassau County Coaction Against Domestic Violence, also known as "The Coalition". This highly regarded organization is a private, non-profit tax exempt entity, founded in 1976. The agency is the only comprehensive service provider to victims of domestic violence in Nassau County. It offers counseling, legal services, safe housing and Family Court advocacy for victims. All services are confidential and without charge. The Coalition can be reached at 516-572-0700. There is also a free, confidential 24 hour hotline at 516-542-0404.
How can you recognize violence in a relationship?
A healthy relationship is based on trust and mutual respect. Each partner supports the other, and tries to understand each other’s feelings and experiences, and feels free to express his or her needs. An abusive relationship often starts just like a healthy one -- full of love, excitement and romance. As time goes on, however, what once felt loving and flattering starts to feel controlling and even frightening. Some signs of an abusive relationship at the dating stage are: excessive jealousy, threats and accusations, name calling, humiliation, possessiveness, and violence. Domestic violence includes isolation of the victim from family and friends, forced sex, control of financial matters, excessive criticizing and belittling, destruction of property, monitoring of the victim’s whereabouts, stalking, and manipulation. The more experienced abuser can check the car’s mileage and question the children about the victim’s daily activities.
What is emotional abuse?
Physical abuse may be easy to recognize, but what is emotional abuse? Emotional abuse is often invisible and unreported. It is verbal abuse, threats, humiliation, and control. The abuser may prevent his partner from getting or keeping a job. He may force the victim to ask for money, or give her an allowance. He may deny her access to the family income. He abuses her by making her think she is crazy, playing mind games, controlling who she sees and talks to, and where she goes. Studies have shown that emotional abuse may be even more destructive than physical abuse because the abuser is always in the victim’s face, demeaning, degrading, humiliating and harassing her. In most communities, emotional and psychological abuse is much more common than physical abuse.
What are the causes and effects of domestic violence?
Domestic violence is rarely caused by alcohol or drug use, genetics, stress or mental illness. Therefore, it is not treatable in most cases with medication. Violence is not caused by loss of control as previously believed. It is the intentional use of controlling tactics. Violence is the choice the abuser makes to gain control and power in his household. The following characteristics are found in most batterers in family relationships:
< Control: Coerciveness is widely recognized as a central quality of battering men. The abuser treats the victim like a servant; he makes all of the big decisions and acts like the "master of the castle". One of the areas of life heavily controlled by these men is their wives’ parenting skills. An abusive man may overrule the mother’s parenting decisions, or assault her when he is angry over the children’s behavior.
< Entitlement: A man who batters considers himself entitled to a special status within the family, with the right to use violence when he deems necessary. He believes that he has the right to enforce his will on his partner. This belief, rooted in sexism and misogyny, is supported and tolerated by the society in which we live, a society which has historically condoned the use of violence against women. "Hitting my wife has nothing to do with how good a parent I am. As a man, I have the right to define her reality."
< Possessiveness: Abusive men have been reported to perceive their partners as owned objects. Other characteristics that can have an impact on children include manipulativeness, denial of the abuse, and resistance to change. Some abusers use favoritism to build a special allegience with one child in the family. As some researchers have noted, the favored child is particularly likely to be a boy, who is encouraged to feel superior to females.

The abuse is cumulative and it eventually robs the victim of her identity. The abuse almost never stops on its own and almost always gets steadily worse and more violent with the passage of time. Marriage counseling usually is not effective to stop the abuse because the victim is afraid to speak up out of fear of later repercussions. In addition, the abuser is often very manipulative and charming (even romantic), and as a result can fool the counselor that the marital problems are the victim’s own fault. He may claim that he is the real victim, and that she needs to change. Therefore, the counseling sessions become another means to control the victim and humiliate her. Researchers report frightening accounts of men who say and do all of the right things, and are the "star" of their anger management class, who are later arrested for horrific acts of violence towards their partners.
Recurring abuse may cause significant psychological problems resulting in post traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety or mood disorders, suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and substance abuse (used to self medicate). Both victims and batterers use alcohol or drugs to rationalize the violence. Society also rationalizes the situation, creating reasons why victims stay in the relationship and excuses the abuser as not really being a bad person. Adolescents in treatment for alcohol abuse are reported to have a higher rate of witnessing violence at home.
What are the effects on children?
Children who witness domestic violence, even indirectly, experience high levels of stress, fear and tension due to the high level of conflict between the parents. According to Ms. Schwaeber, when children live in a household with fighting and abuse, they are much more likely to:
-- copy the hitting and yelling they see.
-- live in fear of physical harm to themselves or their family.
-- worry too much.
-- think they are responsible and feel badly about themselves.
-- feel hopeless and sad and be unable to concentrate at school.
-- have problems with eating or sleeping.
-- love and hate the abuser at the same time.
Studies have indicated that children who witness domestic violence at home, compared to those who do not, exhibit more aggressive and anti-social behavior, depression, anxiety, low self esteem, and low cognitive, verbal and motor skills. Moreover, men who abuse their wives are often violent towards their children. Children from violent families, even if not physically abused themselves, are severely affected by their experiences. A child who has witnessed violence in the home is often thinking: "I can’t sleep because I worry about Mommy. Why won’t she stop crying? I am afraid that Daddy will really hurt Mommy. Why are there broken dishes in the kitchen? If I keep my room clean, maybe Daddy wouldn’t hit Mommy. I get so frightened when they yell that I need to hide. I want to call the police."
As children get older and begin their own relationships, they will often mimic the behavior they witnessed in their childhood. Boys often react to domestic violence by acting with aggression towards their mothers and sisters. They carry this aggressive behavior into their later lives as boyfriends, husbands, and fathers. Girls who witness domestic violence may become more passive and in later life, they may become attracted to abusive men.
Why do victims stay in abusive relationships?
There are many reasons why women stay in the relationship, even after they know that they are being harmed. Some reasons are:
! Fear that leaving will precipitate even more violent incidents (One out of three
women killed in homicides tried to leave abusive partners.)
! Emotional dependency on the marital relationship, accompanied by feelings of low self esteem and self blame.
! No access to cash and lack of financial resources and employment income; concern about future economic security.
! Concern about the effects of a marital breakup on the children’s future.
! Feelings of love for the abusive spouse, coupled with hopes that the relationship will improve. (The victim believes that if she tries a little harder, or is a better wife, the abuser will really change.)
! Rationalization and excuses for the abuser’s behavior.
! Physical or social isolation from family.
! Strong cultural and religious beliefs about the importance of staying married, at all costs (Orthodox Jewish women stay twice as long in violent relationships, according to Carol Goodman Kaufman, author of Sins of Omission)
! Feelings of shame about choosing a bad partner, and having made a mistake.
! Acceptance of violence as "normal". (Mothers of victims tell their children, "My marriage was the same".)
! Lack of information about legal rights and the resources available.
! Prior unsuccessful attempts to obtain help.
! Concern that a report of violence won’t be believed. (Family and friends see the abuser as a "good guy" since the abuser is always careful to abuse in private, and always displays a positive image in public.)
! Fear of the unknown or making a life change. Fear of loneliness and social isolation.


What can be done to help the victim?
Religious and cultural beliefs may tacitly or openly approve of preserving the family, even to the detriment of women and children. In many cultures, there is a strong belief that domination of women by men is acceptable, based upon sex-based stereotypes about appropriate roles and conduct for women and men. In this belief system, males are superior to females, and the victim, not the abuser, is to blame.
It is important to offer support to the victim, and to help her understand that she is not to blame, and there is help available to her. If the victim has the support of her family and friends, she will have the strength she needs to investigate her legal options and to stop the abuse. The victim needs to know that there is a safe place for her to go with the children if the need arises. She can seek counseling to better understand her situation and what her options are.
National Hotlines
Al-Anon/Alateen: 1-800-356-9996
A hotline which provides information on alcoholism and referrals to local support groups for friends and family members of alcoholics.
Alcohol Treatment Referral Hotline: 1-800-ALCOHOL
A 24-hour helpline which provides information and local referrals to people with alcohol and/or drug use concerns.
Alcoholics Anonymous: (212) 870-3400
The national AA base which provides information and referrals to local AA establishments.
Cocaine Anonymous: 1-800-347-8998
The national CA hotline which makes referrals for cocaine users to local support group meetings.
Families Anonymous: 1-800-736-9805
A hotline which refers family members and friends of alcohol or drug users to local FA meetings. *FA
The Helpline: 1-800-821-4357
A 24-hr alcohol and drug abuse assistance, information, and local referral service.
Narcotics Anonymous: (212) 929-6262
The national NA base which provides drug abusers with information and referrals to local NA groups.
National AIDS Hotline: 1-800-342-AIDS
An information service which offers local referrals for testing, support groups, and counseling.
National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE
A national helpline which provides crisis assistance and information about shelters, legal advocacy, and counseling.
National Victim Center: 1-800-FYI-CALL
An information and referral service for victims of domestic violence or rape.
Nassau Hotlines
Al-Anon/Alateen: (516) 433-8003
A hotline which refers friends and family members of alcoholics to local support groups.
Alcohol and Drug Abuse Hotline of Nassau County: (516) 481-4000
A 24-hour alcohol and drug abuse information, referral, and crisis helpline.
Alcoholics Anonymous: (516) 292-3040
A hotline which provides alcohol abusers with referrals to local AA group meetings.
Children of Alcoholics or Drug Abusers: (516) 588-6676
A YMCA Family Services support group for children (young and adult) of substance abusers.
Domestic Violence Hotline: (516) 485-4600
A helpline which offers a program specifically for abusive men seeking counseling and/or referrals.
LIAAC: Long Island Association for AIDS Care: (516) 385-AIDS
A hotline and referral service offering AIDS information, full client services, support groups, a legal clinic, a buddy program, and pastoral care.
Narcotics Anonymous: (516) 937-6262
A hotline for drug abusers which makes referrals to local NA support group meetings.
Nassau Coalition Against Domestic Violence: (516) 542-0404
An organization that offers counseling, shelter, and legal help to victims of abuse.
Suicide Hotline of Nassau: (516) 679-1111
A crisis intervention and referral hotline for suicide, substance abuse, and other problems.
Suffolk Hotlines
Al-Anon/Alateen: (516) 669-2827
This hotline refers friends and family members of alcoholics to local support groups.
Alcoholics Anonymous: (516) 669-1124
A hotline which provides alcohol abusers with referrals to local AA meetings.
Brighter Tomorrows: (516) 485-4600
A helpline for battered spouses and children which provides crisis intervention, counseling, and temporary shelter.
Families Anonymous: (516) 221-0303
A support and referral hotline for family members of drug and/or alcohol abusers.
LIAAC: Long Island Association for AIDS Care: (see Nassau hotlines)
Long Island Women's Coalition, Inc. Hotline: (516) 666-8833
A helpline which offers referrals, counseling, shelter, and court advocacy for battered women.
Narcotics Anonymous: (516) 853-3760
A hotline for drug abusers which makes referrals to local NA support group meetings.
Nar-Anon: (516) 582-6465
A hotline which refers family members of drug abusers to local Nar-Anon support group meetings.
Response of Suffolk County: (516) 751-7500
A crisis intervention and treatment hotline (suicide, drug, alcohol, domestic violence, etc.).
Victims Information Bureau (VIBS): (516) 360-3606
A rape and domestic violence hotline
Long Island Clinic and Treatment Program Referrals
To locate the nearest alcohol or drug abuse clinic, outpatient treatment program, inpatient treatment program, or clinical therapy center, call one of the following information and referral helplines: (Insurance and fee information is available.)
Nassau County Department of Drug and Alcohol Addiction: (516) 572-5500
A counselor will make an assessment and set up an appointment for anyone seeking help with a drug or alcohol abuse problem. Local referrals will then be made to clinics, outpatient programs, and inpatient programs, depending on the specific needs and desires of the patient. Nassau residents only.
Suffolk County Department of Health Services, Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse
Main Office (516) 853-8535
Cocaine (516) 852-2680
Alcohol (516) 854-2571
Methadone (516) 853-7373
An appointment will be set up with either the drug or alcohol clinic for an assessment and screening. Based on the nature of the substance abuse problem, appropriate referrals will be made for rehabilitation, detoxification, or outpatient/ inpatient treatment and counseling.