Westchester County and Bronxville, New York Divorce Practice

Divorce Lawyer Joan Iacono believes that people’s lives are their own and that their divorces are theirs as well.  She helps her clients in Bronxville and Westchester County craft equitable resolutions to the breakup of their marriage and to the issues that arise.

While many lawyers get caught up in boilerplate divorce agreements, Joan Iacono believes that with the guidance of counsel, the parties can craft the resolution that works for them.  She helps her clients create a contract that resolves divorce issues the way the client needs or wants and then incorporates the contract into the divorce judgment.

One of the issues in divorce is distribution of property.  New York is not a community property state and instead uses the principle known as “equitable distribution of property.”  In distributing property equitably, the court considers not just whose name is attached to an asset, but what each party’s contribution was to the acquisition to the assets – whether that contribution was direct or indirect.  The laws of New York are designed to protect the spouse who was not the principal wage earner, but might be performing other duties in the marital partnership.

“If you look at marriage as a partnership, a kind of financial partnership, one spouse could be the homemaker raising the child that enables the other spouse to handle the financial transfers, trading an all that,” said Joan Iacono.  “The spouse who doesn’t directly contribute cash still contributes because he or she is the other half of the partnership.  In New York, not only the mom but also the stay-at-home dad has rights that need to be recognized, not just in property settlement but in child custody and in alimony, which is called maintenance.”

Custody determination in New York is based on the child’s best interest.  The child’s best interest is determined not so much the relationship but by who is the primary care giver.  If child custody is going to be litigated, Joan Iacono helps her clients develop a strategy or a theme that will satisfy the court’s decision-making process.  That strategy might include calling upon experts to show that one partner is unfit – or that both partners are fit but one is less fit than the other.  Domestic violence is a big issue with respect to child custody.  If an accusation of domestic violence has been made against her client, Joan Iacono focuses on finding a way to disarm it.  While many divorcing spouses make accusations of domestic violence and seek orders of protection to disparage their partner, courts are hesitant to discount the allegations because many people have been killed after protection orders have been dismissed.

Child support is usually decided by a formula, which typically applies across the board.  If a spouse has a large income, the formula varies and the court has more discretion in determining child support.

Divorce attorney Joan Iacono has more than 21 years of divorce law experience.  In addition to her private practice, she served as principal court attorney to the chief judge of the Bronx Family Court.

Crafting legal resolutions that work for you

For a consultation, call Joan Iacono at 914-961-0565.

Iacono Law Office
81 Pondfield Road
Bronxville, New York 10708
Map and Directions
Toll Free: 888-855-6208
Telephone: 914-961-0565
Fax: 914-961-3333
E-mail: Contact Us

From offices in Bronxville, Iacono Law Office serves the legal needs of New York's Westchester, Putnam and Rockland counties including the communities of new Bronxville, Yonkers, White Plains, Tuckahoe, Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, Eastchester, Pelham, Larchmont and Wakefield.