"Get" Doesn't Get a Couple Divorced in New York
A judge in New York has recently ruled that an Israeli divorce judgment that was based on a decree of divorce called a "get" issued by a Brooklyn rabbi was not valid. New York Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey S. Sunshine of Brooklyn ruled that if a "get" were recognized as a divorce it would have the practical effect of altering and amending the Domestic Relations Law section 170 to provide a new grounds for obtaining New York divorces under state law.
The plaintiff-husband's divorce petition was allowed to go forward, despite objections and arguments by the wife and her divorce lawyer that the case should be dismissed on the grounds of comity and judicial estoppels.
In law, comity means that one jurisdiction will generally recognize another jurisdiction's ruling or judgment as a courtesy and reciprocal arrangement and will not make any ruling or decision that demeans the decision of the other jurisdiction, even if the laws of the jurisdictions oppose each other.
Some experts in international family law call the court's decision surprising because comity is generally granted to a foreign divorce decree as long as one of the parties resides in the foreign country. The reasons behind the foreign court's decision to grant a divorce are usually not an issue or even looked at by courts in the United States.
The divorce case is between Alla and Alexander Tsirlin who were married in Jerusalem in September 1995. Ms. Tsirlin gave birth to a son, Jonathan, six months into the marriage. In October 2003, the couple and their son moved from Israel to the United States, but due to passport problems, Mr. Tsirlin had to return to Israel about a month later.
In December 2003, Mr. and Ms. Tsirlin appeared before a Brooklyn rabbinate, which issued a "get," or religious divorce. Two years later in Israel's Rabbinical Court, Jerusalem District, a divorce judgment was issued based on the Brooklyn divorce decree.
In a surprise move in 2006, Mr. Tsirlin decided to file a divorce action in New York, seeking joint custody of the couple's son and child support. Ms. Tsirlin contested the divorce, citing the Israeli divorce decree. Justice Sunshine rejected Ms. Tsirlin's motion. He found that allowing a U.S.-based get to serve as the basis of a valid divorce provided a way to circumvent New York divorce laws, according to the New York Law Journal.
Mr. Tsirlin and his New York divorce lawyer are reportedly happy that they will be allowed to move forward with the divorce action.
