Legal Question in Family Law in New York

Can tape recordings be used in a divorce preliminary hearing

My wife and her attorney recently filed her financial disclosure information full

of obvious errors and several unknowns such as the value of her car and her

pension, even though I had given her the information in the form of actual

printouts from KBB for the car and printouts from her 401k company. When I

questioned my wife she said her lawyer was stalling to keep her in the house

until October. Is this perjury because my wife signed in front of a notary that

this and a lot of other obviously false information was true? She even claimed

she had a car loan outstanding when her car was paid off. I got mad and called

her and her lawyer a bunch of bad names which unknown to me she was

recording. Will this be admissable?


Asked on 5/25/06, 3:38 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Andrew Nitzberg Andrew Nitzberg & Associates

Re: Can tape recordings be used in a divorce preliminary hearing

1. While the inclusion of mis-information on the FC is punishable by perjury, the DA is unlikely to become involved under these facts. Some mis-information is almost expected and it is your burden to correct this information. Your attorney should have no problem based on these facts.

2. The recording is admissible because she was a participant in the call. However, it will be ruled inadmissible on objection on the basis of 'lack of relevence' or under CPLR 3401 as 'immaterial and prejudicial'. In the absence of threats, this is a meaningless event.

Your lawyer should be able to handle these matters easily.

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Answered on 5/25/06, 4:41 pm


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