The surging Omicron variant of the Coronavirus is causing us to retreat into early pandemic-mode. If you’re a New York State resident considering a divorce at this time, you may have concerns about in-person meetings and court hearings.
Mediated divorces and collaborative divorces can be handled safely, contagious variant notwithstanding. Having mastered Zoom in the early stage of the pandemic, I can assure you that it’s possible to conduct negotiations virtually in a New York divorce.
Indeed, one positive thing to come out of the pandemic is that – with the now common use of virtual meeting technology — the two spouses and the attorney(s) involved in a divorce settlement process needn’t be in close geographic proximity to negotiate a settlement. Even divorce papers can be executed and signed by a notary using virtual technology.
However, for those who prefer in-person meetings, I have a large conference room in my White Plains, New York office. This gives you the option of meeting in person, physically distanced and masked. (Everyone in my office is fully vaccinated and boosted.)
For divorces that need to be handled through the court system, the New York divorce courts, and Westchester County courts in particular, have made significant adjustments in order to operate safely in the pandemic. At this time, almost all court proceedings are conducted virtually via Microsoft Teams. Only evidentiary hearings (trials) are done in person, and some of them can be done virtually, utilizing the screen-sharing feature of Microsoft teams.
© 2022 Arnold D. Cribari
