Non-Party Fiancé Must Testify to His Financial Support in the Divorce

Non-Party Fiancé Must Testify to His Financial Support in the DivorceIn a case before Justice Jeffrey Sunshine, who sits in the Supreme Court of Kings County, Justice Sunshine dealt with issues involving financial support provided by a fiancé of the wife. The parties in this case had been involved in litigating a divorce since 2015. In this case Justice Sunshine found the husband was entitled to discovery on the issue of the value of any jewelry given to the plaintiff by her non-party fiancé. The fiancé’s contention was an engagement ring he provided to the plaintiff was not relevant to the divorce case. This was because jewelry given by plaintiff to another person could not be considered an engagement ring given in contemplation of marriage since in this case the plaintiff was still legally married to the defendant in the pending divorce case.

Attorney’s Fees Issue

Plaintiff’s financial circumstances, including the value of any jewelry, maybe relevant to the issue of attorney’s fees held Judge Sunshine. In this case the court upheld the trial subpoena for the fiancé to testify and to produce limited discovery related to his direct financial support of the plaintiff.

Justice Sunshine limited document discovery of the fiancé related solely to direct support and/or financial obligations paid on plaintiff’s behalf with no obligation for repayment.

schlissel-headshotElliot S. Schlissel, Esq. is a divorce lawyer representing men and women throughout the Metropolitan New York area. He can be reached at Elliot@sdnylaw.com or 800-344-6431.