Prior to September 1, 2009, New Yorkers who wanted to protect their property interests, financial security or insurance coverage during a divorce had to file a separate motion seeking an injunction with the court. This procedural obstacle concerned many who had a stake in seeing that the status quo was followed until the court could issue a final order regarding the divorce. Some people were hesitant to file for divorce because of this real concern.

Section 202.16a of the New York Uniform Civil Rules for the Supreme and County Court went into effect on September 1, 2009. It ended the need to file separate motions to protect property, money and insurance interests during a divorce.

New Protections Afforded Under an Automatic Order

This new procedural rule creates an automatic stay that alleviates the need for divorcing parties to file motions seeking injunctions that protect against things such as the transfer of property, accumulation of additional debt and cancellation of insurance coverage. This automatic stay is immediately binding on the plaintiff upon filing of the summons or summons and complaint. It is immediately binding on the defendant upon valid service of the automatic order with the summons.

The automatic stay prevents the parties from the following during matrimonial actions:

• Sale, transfer, encumbrance, concealment, assignment, removal or disposal of, without consent of the other spouse or by court order, any individually or jointly held property
• Transfer, encumbrance, assignment, removal, withdrawal or disposal of any tax-deferred funds, stocks or other assets held in a retirement or pension account; and applying or requesting the payment of any retirement benefits without consent of the other spouse or a court order
• Accumulation of unreasonable debt (permissible debt includes debt incurred in the usual course of business, payment of normal household expenses, or attorney's fees associated with the matrimonial concern)
• Removal of the other spouse or the children of the marriage from any existing medical, hospital or dental insurance policy, or reduction in the amount of insurance coverage in effect
• Alteration of the beneficiaries of any life insurance policy, or change  to the existing levels of life, automobile, homeowners or renters insurance coverage

These Changes Are Designed to Ease Your Concerns

These changes to New York procedural court rules should relieve some of the divorcing parties' concerns; the expense associated with filing motions with the court; and the burden on the courts associated with ruling on all the motions seeking injunctive relief. It is important to understand how these changes could affect your divorce. To learn more about these changes, speak with an experienced divorce attorney.