New York Matrimonial Trial Handbook

Book excerpt: The New York Matrimonial Trial Handbook, by Joel R. Brandes, of the New York Bar, was written for both the attorney who has never tried a matrimonial action and for the experienced litigator. It is not a treatise. It is a how to book for lawyers. This handbook is a companion work to his treatise, Law and the Family New York, 2d (Thomson Reuters Westlaw), which contains extensive coverage of the substantive and procedural law related to matrimonial actions and family court proceedings. The New York Matrimonial Trial Handbook focuses on the procedural and substantive law, as well as the law of evidence, that an attorney must have at his or her fingertips when trying a matrimonial action. It is intended to be an aide for preparing for a trial and as a reference for the procedure in offering and objecting to evidence during a trial. The book deals extensively with the testimonial and documentary evidence necessary to meet the burden of proof. There are thousands of suggested questions for the examination of witnesses at trial to establish each cause of action and requests for ancillary relief, as well as for the cross-examination of difficult witnesses.