New York Divorce Lawyer Lisa Beth Older comments on a Court holding that the Death of a spouse does not negate the duly executed Stipulation of the parties entered into during a New York divorce while both parties were alive.

This decision will have serious consequences for relatives of the deceased spouse who will take from the will of the deceased spouse:

The Court held as follows in the case of McKibben v Jenkin (41 AD3d 795 [Schmidt, Skelos, Lifson, Covello], lv dismissed 9 NY3d 955):

In ac action for divorce the husband and wife had stipulated to the resolution of their divorce issues, and then tried the remainder of them in a divorce forum. The Judicial Hearing Officer rendered a decision on the outstanding issues, but before the decision was filed the wife died.

Since the formal entry of a judgment with the clerk of the divorce court was a ministerial act, the Stipulation of Settle tm was binding and the survingn spouse, the Husband, was bound but that ruling
Accordingly, the Court held that the Supreme Court properly denied the husband’s motion.