At a glance
- For spouses and family members who have agreed, or are asked to agree, to resolve a dispute before a Beis Din.
- We review or draft the arbitration agreement (shtar borerus), prepare your case, and handle the court side under CPLR Article 75.
- Deadlines: 90 days after an award is delivered to move to vacate or modify it; one year to move to confirm it (CPLR 7511, 7510).
- A Beis Din can decide financial issues and, subject to court review, child support; custody and parenting time cannot be decided by binding arbitration.
- Joel Yacoob, admitted in New York and New Jersey, personally handles every matter.
How Beis Din arbitration works under New York law
Arbitration is a private process in which the parties agree to have a dispute decided outside of court. A Beis Din (rabbinical court) can serve as the arbitrator when both parties sign a written agreement to arbitrate before it. New York enforces written agreements to arbitrate, and a court applying the arbitration statute does not decide whether the underlying claim has merit (CPLR 7501).
The religious character of the forum does not change this. New York courts apply neutral principles of contract law to an agreement to appear before a Beis Din (Avitzur v. Avitzur, 58 N.Y.2d 108 (1983)). In a divorce, the Second Department compelled arbitration of the spouses’ prospective financial issues before the Beth Din of America under an arbitration agreement both had signed (Friedman v. Friedman, 34 A.D.3d 418 (2d Dep’t 2006)).
The arbitration agreement (shtar borerus) and why its scope matters
The shtar borerus is the written arbitration agreement the parties sign before the Beis Din hears the case. In the eyes of a civil court, it is the source of the Beis Din’s authority. An award on a matter that was not submitted can be modified if the error can be corrected without affecting the rest of the decision (CPLR 7511(c)(2)), and an award made by an arbitrator who exceeded his power can be vacated (CPLR 7511(b)(1)(iii)). Before you sign, we review or draft the agreement with these points in mind:
- Scope. List the disputes being submitted, such as property, support or a family business, and expressly leave out custody and parenting time.
- Forum and procedure. Name the Beis Din, say how the panel of dayanim (judges) will be chosen, and address how documents and witnesses will be handled.
- The award. New York’s statute calls for an award in writing, signed and affirmed by the arbitrator (CPLR 7507), with terms definite enough for a court to enter judgment on.
- Delivery. State how the award will be delivered, because the deadlines to confirm or to challenge it run from delivery.
- The divorce case. Coordinate the arbitration with any pending divorce action and with the Get.
Procedures differ among batei din, including the role lawyers may play at hearings. New York’s arbitration statute gives a party the right to be represented by an attorney and provides that this right cannot be waived (CPLR 7506(d)), so representation should be settled before the hearings begin.
Court proceedings under CPLR Article 75
| Step | Rule | Key points |
|---|---|---|
| Compel arbitration | CPLR 7503(a) | A party may ask the court to order the other side to arbitrate. If there is no substantial question whether a valid agreement was made or complied with, and the claim is not time-barred, the court directs arbitration. If a related case is pending, the request is made by motion in that case, and an order compelling arbitration stays the case as to the issues being arbitrated. |
| Stay arbitration | CPLR 7503(b)–(c) | A party who has not participated may ask the court to stop an arbitration because no valid agreement was made or complied with, or the claim is time-barred. A party served with a notice of intention to arbitrate must apply within 20 days or lose those objections. |
| Confirm the award | CPLR 7510 | Apply within one year after the award is delivered. The court confirms it unless it is vacated or modified on a ground in CPLR 7511. |
| Vacate or modify | CPLR 7511 | Apply within 90 days after delivery. The grounds are limited, as described below. |
| Judgment | CPLR 7514 | A judgment is entered on the confirmed award, and it can then be enforced as a court judgment. |
Grounds to vacate or modify an award
For a party who took part in the arbitration or was served with a notice of intention to arbitrate, the court vacates an award only if that party’s rights were prejudiced by one of these grounds (CPLR 7511(b)(1)):
- corruption, fraud or misconduct in procuring the award;
- partiality of an arbitrator appointed as a neutral, unless the award was by confession;
- an arbitrator exceeding his power, or executing it so imperfectly that a final and definite award was not made; or
- failure to follow Article 75’s procedures, unless the party continued with the arbitration with notice of the defect and without objection.
A party who neither took part nor was served with a notice of intention may also argue that no valid agreement to arbitrate was made, that the agreement was not complied with, or that the claim was time-barred (CPLR 7511(b)(2)). An award is modified rather than vacated for a miscalculation of figures or a mistake in a description, an award on a matter not submitted that can be corrected without affecting the merits, or a defect of form (CPLR 7511(c)). The text of CPLR 7511 is on the State Senate website. A court will not re-decide the merits or rule on religious questions.
What a Beis Din can and cannot decide in a divorce
Financial issues
Property and support disputes between spouses can be arbitrated (Hirsch v. Hirsch, 37 N.Y.2d 312 (1975)), and a court can compel arbitration of financial issues under a valid agreement (Friedman).
Child support, with court review
Child support may be arbitrated, but an award can be vacated on public-policy grounds if it fails to comply with the Child Support Standards Act and is not in the children’s best interests (Matter of Goldberg v. Goldberg, 124 A.D.3d 779 (2d Dep’t 2015)). See child support and maintenance.
Not custody or parenting time
Custody and visitation are not subject to binding arbitration (Glauber v. Glauber, 192 A.D.2d 94 (2d Dep’t 1993)). In Goldberg, the Second Department sent a Beis Din’s custody and visitation rulings back to the court for its own determination, while confirming the child support award. See child custody and parenting time.
Not the civil divorce
Only the New York Supreme Court can grant a divorce. A Beis Din supervises the Get; it cannot end the civil marriage. See Jewish divorce and the Get.
Bringing an award or a Beis Din settlement into the divorce judgment
A no-fault divorce judgment cannot be granted until property, maintenance, child support, counsel fees, and custody and parenting time are resolved by the parties or decided by the court and incorporated into the judgment (Domestic Relations Law (DRL) § 170(7)). When some of those issues were handled through a Beis Din, there are two common paths:
- Confirm the award. Apply under CPLR 7510 within one year of delivery, and coordinate with the divorce action so the award’s terms can be incorporated into the judgment.
- Put a settlement in writing. If the Beis Din helped the spouses reach a compromise, record it in a settlement agreement that is signed and acknowledged as DRL § 236(B)(3) requires, and submit it with the divorce papers.
Either way, child support terms in an agreement presented to the court must state that the parties were advised of the Child Support Standards Act and that the guideline amount is presumptively correct; if the agreement deviates, it must state the guideline amount and the reasons (DRL § 240(1-b)(h)). Parenting terms remain subject to the court’s review of the child’s best interests (DRL § 240(1)(a)). For support questions specific to kollel and yeshiva families, see our guide to kollel families and child support.
How we help
Joel Yacoob personally handles every matter, before the Beis Din and in court. We review or draft the shtar borerus before you sign, prepare financial documents and submissions, and take part in hearings where the Beis Din’s procedures allow. In court, we bring and oppose applications to compel or stay arbitration and to confirm, vacate or modify awards, and we coordinate the result with the divorce and the Get. Our guide to enforcing a Beis Din award under CPLR Article 75 covers the court side in more detail.
We represent clients in Brooklyn, in Monsey and Rockland County, and in Kiryas Joel and Orange County, with consultations by phone or video. To begin, start your case online or call (718) 975-1123, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.