The Ultimate Divorce Lawyer Marilyn Chinitz

Weinberg Center for Elder Justice

Marilyn Chinitz is a fierce advocate for the vulnerable and elderly in our society. Recently she was honored as a Champion for Change by the Weinberg Center for Elder Justice, in recognition of her extraordinary dedication to change and to seek justice for older adults. Chinitz was presented with the prestigious award at the Weinberg Center’s Ninth Annual Awards of Distinction Breakfast where she gave the keynote address. Chinitz said in part, “It is imperative that we gather the stories of the survivors of elder abuse and share them publicly, to bring awareness to this crisis which the Weinberg Center knows is far more widespread than most of us can imagine. I have learned that abuse happens every day to elderly and disabled individuals.”

Tom Cruise, Wendy Williams & Michael Douglas

During nearly four decades as one of America’s top divorce lawyers, representing high-profile clients including Tom Cruise, Wendy Williams and Michael Douglas, Chinitz has witnessed many changes in family law.

Consider the Options to Divorce

Chinitz tries to get clients to consider their options before moving ahead with a divorce. “You can educate them as to whether or not divorce is something that they want to embark on,” she said. After hearing why clients think they want a divorce, she sometimes presents a different scenario. “I extrapolate what their motivations are and how they’re thinking,” Chinitz explained. “You know right away if somebody says, ‘I’m done, I want to move on,’ but you also know if somebody is hesitant and making decisions without really having full knowledge or having done their due diligence.”

Impact on Children

For one thing, divorce has a tremendous impact on children. Some divorcing couples work with parental coordinators, who help to broker solu- tions. “I like the idea of people at least trying to be cooperative,” Chinitz said. “Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn’t.”

Shun Social Media

Chinitz also recommends that clients avoid posting to social media while undergoing a divorce. Even if a cheating spouse, say, blocks the attorney from seeing his or her posts, lawyers can simply have someone else examine a spouse’s social media feeds as well as those of friends and associates for incriminating information like expensive trips or gifts. “Every platform — Facebook, Instagram, TikTok — for lawyers is a pool of information,” said Chinitz. One client’s husband claimed to be traveling for business even though that seemed unlikely. “We were able to find out exactly where he was because the woman with whom he was having a relationship posted everything — every vacation, every restaurant, every private club,” she said. “You get a lot of information; it’s crazy.”

Almost Everything Is Online

“Now, many court proceedings continue to be online — court hearings, trials, depositions,” Chinitz said. Chinitz believes because it’s cost-effective and efficient, these virtual practices, with the exception of trials, are here to stay. Divorcing parties are assigned a specific virtual time slot as opposed to staying in the courtroom for hours waiting for their case to come up. But Chinitz finds there is also a downside. “Trying to negotiate and resolve things in the back room when you have time to spend with the adversary waiting for your case to be called has become a lost opportunity now,” she said.

Lawyers Are Available 24/7

Litigation has not slowed down because of the pandemic. With many attorneys continuing to work from home, clients have access to counsel at any time of day. “The phone will ring at 6 a.m. on a Saturday,” Chinitz laughed. She answers. She has a client in Hong Kong with whom she speaks at 6 a.m. because it’s evening over there.

Private Judges

With courts still backed up, Chinitz says divorcing couples are using retired judges to arbitrate their cases.

Post-Pandemic Finances

The pandemic’s disruption is still wreaking havoc on divorcing parties. Agreements based on business valuations that have now dropped precipitously due to current markets, requiring distribution of assets that no longer exist, need to be amended. Some people no longer have enough income to meet their support obligations; others contemplating divorce are now considering waiting until things pick up financially.

Colorful Career

Chinitz’s colorful career has included some wild cases like a CSI-level extraction of a prenuptial agreement from a safe deposit box in the World Trade Center that had melted in the 9/11 attack and hiring a beautiful female private investigator in Rome to pose as a bride to locate a child illegally taken by his mother to Italy, where a relative ran a wedding dress atelier. “You look back, and think, ‘Wow, this is like a movie!’” Chinitz laughed. “There isn’t a story I haven’t heard.”

Uncovering a Murder with Geraldine Ferraro

In another astonishing case, Chinitz uncovered the murder of an Orthodox Jewish woman found dead in her Manhattan home and buried immediately without an autopsy, amid an ugly divorce. Chinitz reviewed the circumstance of evidence uncovered by investigators, then she had the family hire and discuss the case with her partner, Geraldine Ferraro — yes, the vice-presidential candidate in 1984. When the widower denied the dead woman’s family access to his children, they consulted Chinitz. “They told me the story of her divorce, and after a very extensive meeting, I said, ‘You’ve buried your sister. I think you buried the evidence. I think the husband killed her,’” Chinitz said. The private investigators discovered compelling circumstantial evidence and went to the district attorney and obtained an order to exhume the body. The cause of death was determined to be homicide by neck compression, and the ex-husband was eventually convicted in 2019.

Philanthropy & Entertaining

Chinitz lends her expertise to a variety of charitable causes, sitting on the boards of the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, the Foundation for Gender Equality, WHAM (Women’s Health Access Matters) and K9s4Cops, which trains German shepherds for police departments. “There are a lot of interesting areas to keep me busy,” she said. Chinitz also loves to cook and hosts multi-lingual dinner parties for her circle of international friends.

blankrome.com (212)885-5564

Celebration

Of Black History

MONTH, APPLE

Releases New Black Unity Collection And Content

Apple commemorates Black History Month with exclusive content and curated launches celebrating Black culture and community. Customers can show their support with this year’s Black Unity Collection, which includes a special-edition Apple Watch Black Unity Sport Loop, alongside a new matching watch face and iPhone wallpaper. Beginning in February, allnew activations — including a series of Apple Maps Guides created by the Smithsonian, TV and film collections curated by Dr. Jelani Cobb, and more will be available to explore. Additionally, through its Racial Equity and Justice Initiative (REJI), Apple is expanding its support of five organizations focused on uplifting Black and Brown communities by unlocking creative potential through technology.

Apple Watch and iPhone

Members of Apple’s Black creative community and allies came together to develop this year’s Black Unity Collection and designed the new expressions inspired by the creative process of mosaic, celebrating the vibrancy of Black communities and the power of unity.

The Black Unity Sport Loop features the word “Unity” woven abstractly into the band using red, green and black yarns that pay homage to the Pan-African flag, while a unique layering of yarns lends a sense of three-dimensionality to the letters. Additionally, the Unity Mosaic watch face incorporates geometric shapes in green, black, red and yellow, and as the minutes change, each number uses pieces of other numbers to morph into new forms. iPhone users can also show their support with the new Unity wallpaper for their lockscreens.

Apple is supporting the Art Gallery of New South Wales (Sydney), Ghetto Film School (New York, Los Angeles, London), Music Forward (Los Angeles), Shout Mouse Press (Washington, D.C.) and The National Museum of African American Music (Nashville, Tennessee). Apple’s support for these organizations is a continuation of REJI grants over the past two years that helped organizations committed to providing economic, educational and creative opportunities in communities of color.

App Store

The App Store will spotlight apps and games in areas such as music, banking and gaming. Among these apps and games are Dot’s Home, a 2022 App Store Award-winning game designed to educate users on housing disparities experienced in communities of color and financial Way that empower the community with finan50 years of hip-hop culture by spotlighting nu- merous apps that allow users to listen, watch and learn the significance of this creative movement in both the past and present.

Apple Music

Apple Music will underscore the innumerable ways that Black artists have contributed to music and culture through healing, improvisation, reinvention and so much more across all genres. The For Us, By Us playlist will be updated to capture expressions of resilience and resistance, and users can also enjoy new episodes of “The Message” and additional radio programming on Apple Music 1, Country and HITS.

Apple TV App

Viewers can visit the Apple TV app to explore series and films curated by Dr. Jelani Cobb, dean of the Columbia University School of Journalism and a staff writer at The New Yorker. The theme of this year’s collections is “The Matter of Black Lives,” focusing on stories that illustrate three specific pillars: “Freedom in Black,” “Love in Spite Of” and “The Mosaic.”

Apple Fitness+

Apple Fitness+ will share new workouts featuring playlists celebrating Black artists, as well as a new meditation dedicated to Black History Month led by Fitness+ trainer JoAnna Hardy. On January 30, Fitness+ will release a new episode of Time to Walk — an audio experience with some of the world’s most inspiring people — featuring legendary singer Patti LaBelle. On this walk, LaBelle talks about her famous cooking and the powerful role her late sister played in her life. That same day, Time to Run, an audio running experience featuring playlists and coaching designed to help users become more consistent and better runners, will introduce a new episode with Fitness+ trainer Cory Wharton-Malcolm, celebrating Black History Month with a run through South L.A. and songs from the artists who helped put West Coast hip-hop on the map.

Apple News

Throughout the month, Apple News will highlight compelling articles, interviews and audio stories about the Black experience in America, including perspectives and analysis from top journalists. Curated collections will showcase stories from Black-led newsrooms, including Capital B, Essence, NewsOne, Howard Univer- sity’s The Hilltop and more.

Every day, listeners open Apple Podcasts to hear from the world’s most inspiring and influential voices. And each year, Apple’s collections honoring Black History Month help listeners discover creators offering essential historical context and insightful perspectives on news and culture. Beginning February 1, Apple Podcasts will spotlight shows that embody the omnipresence of Blackness — the ways that Black music, media, spaces and theory positively influence our understanding of the world and one another — from creators Bridget Todd, Bob the Drag Queen, Monét X Change and Apple Music’s Ebro Darden. Listeners will also be able to explore a bespoke selection of podcast recommendations curated by Black disruptors — visionaries in their fields who resist the status quo to share beautiful art and innovation — such as environmental activist Leah Thomas.

Apple Books

During Black History Month, Apple Books will showcase its Read More Black Authors collection, connecting readers and listeners with great books and audiobooks across different genres.

Apple Maps

The Smithsonian created a series of Guides in Apple Maps to spotlight key landmarks in the struggle for civil rights over the past century (1900-1957, 1960-1978, 1980-2020). Users can explore the guides to learn more about the events, people and places that have shaped the nation’s history.