New York Divorce

New York State finally passed no-fault divorce.  It was the last state to do so, while every other state in the union moved to a no-fault divorce system at least a quarter of a century ago.  The good news is that it will make getting a divorce in New York State less acrimonious.  The bad news is that it will enable older men with money to throw their wife away “like a dead cat” when they get tired of her.  A spouse can unilaterally end a marriage by swearing under oath that the relationship has been broken for at least six months and cannot be repaired.  This will probably increase the rate of  divorce because it is now so easy.

In New York the parties may agree to enter into a separation and have the separation agreement or judgment be the further basis for a divorce after one year.

The residency requirements for a divorce in New York are:

• The marriage ceremony was performed in New York and either spouse is a resident of the state at the time of commencement of the action for divorce and resided in the state for a continuous period of one year immediately before the action began.
• The couple lived as husband and wife in New York
• The grounds for divorce occurred in New York
• One spouse must presently be a resident of New York and have resided continuously in the state for at least two years prior to filing an action for divorce

Children:  The three key issues when children are involved in a divorce or separation are:

• Child Custody – Physical custody (where is the child’s main residence and legal custody (who makes decisions about the child)
• Child Visitation – The parent who does not have physical custody has  either reasonable rights  of visitation; a specified visitation schedule; or limited to supervised visitation.
• Child Support – In New York the amount of child support paid by the non-custodial parent to the custodial parent is determined by the state.

Equitable distribution is the law in New York that determines the division of property at the end of a marriage.  The court determines the fair division of the property that was accumulated during the marriage and the debts of the parties.

Today alimony is known as “maintenance” or “spousal support.”  Unlike child support, there is no set formula to calculate spousal support.  The length of time  depends  on the facts of the case as the judge see fit to award.