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When Ross and Rachel from the hit sit-com Friends infamously took a break from their relationship, Ross had a one-night stand. The issues that triggered the schism, busy work schedules and miscommunication, were small potatoes compared to their conflicting views on what was permissible during a separation. Ross’s insistence that he didn’t cheat “because we were on a break!” and Rachel’s insistence that he did cheat because she believed it wasn’t clear they were on a break morphed into a permanent rupture – for a few seasons, at least! 

So, let’s talk about sex outside the relationship when you and your partner have officially agreed to go on hiatus. Here are some common concerns, and how to navigate them. Read more

In any long-term relationship, either partner can entertain thoughts of “what happens if this ends?” When partners are married, a concerned spouse can simply look up information on divorce law to get a rough idea of how marital assets could be divided in divorce and how much alimony they may receive to help maintain their marital lifestyle. 

For unmarried cohabiting partners, answering this same question is not so easy. An unmarried couple cannot technically create marital property and rules regarding alimony don’t apply. 

So what can unmarried couples do to protect themselves? The answer is “palimony,” which refers to financial compensation or property rights that one cohabiting partner agrees to give to the other partner should the relationship end.

Are you in a cohabiting relationship and curious about what a palimony agreement could offer you? Here are some dos and don’s and how-to tips for establishing a palimony agreement in New Jersey. Read more

An acrimonious divorce resulted in a recording-setting art auction for Sotheby’s when the “Macklowe Collection” garnered $676.1 million in sales this past Monday.

The blue-chip art collection, including pieces by Jackson Pollack, Mark Rothko and Andy Warhol, was acquired by real estate magnate Harry and Linda Marlowe, a board member at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, over the course of their 50-year marriage. 

The collection was a source of great pride for the couple. During their divorce, however, the amassed art turned into a source of heated conflict as both spouses dug in on asset division. Linda wanted to keep the collection intact, but Harry disagreed. Neither spouse could agree to a value on the collection. After wrangling over the art for three years, a judge finally ordered the pair to sell off everything and split the proceeds. 

As  the NYPost reported: 

[Insider Vicky] Ward told The Post, “The art collection was what bonded Harry and Linda. If there had been no art collection they would have never stayed together. Harry absolutely respected her eye.”

But, Ward added, “This was the toxic marriage from hell. The level of vitriol, but at the same time this extraordinary bond, was there. They needed each other and they destroyed each other.”

Ward maintained that Linda wanted to keep the collection together, even after the divorce, and Harry pressed to break it up because “she forced him to sell the General Motors Building, which symbolized the apex of his career. This auction is the ultimate tit for tat.”

Do you have a collection — of art, wine, antiques, or even Beanie Babies — that’s a sore spot in your divorce? Here are three takeaways from the Macklowe divorce and art collection sell off that can help maintain perspective when dividing collection with high value and sentimentality. Read more