Ally Hack and Elizabeth Erickson Co-Author New York Law Journal Article on the Implications of the 'Fields v. Fields': “Townhouse Stoop-Sweeping” Case 10 Years Later
07/24/2020 | The New York Law JournalIn this New York Law Journal article, Ally Hack and Elizabeth Erickson review how New York Courts have handled the "head-scratching" decision in 'Fields v. Fields' in the subsequent 10 years after the case.
The article explores the landscape of distributing a marital residence or rental property funded from sources other than clearly identifiable marital dollars (e.g., employment income earned during the marriage), which they say remains as muddled today as in the immediate aftermath of Fields.
The authors note that Fields stands as an alarm bell for matrimonial and real estate attorneys, married developers and real estate investors, and every in-law contributing to a real estate interest with a married child. They say to “plan ahead, record your contributions, document your intentions and set expectations. Preserving your interest can be as simple as a postnuptial agreement establishing a road map for distributing the property in any set of circumstances and eliminating the mystery as to how a court, attempting to apply Fields and its progeny, will analyze and classify the property.”
Read the full article.
