Divorce Lawyer Nassau County

What Is The Divorce Process?

There are seemingly endless pages of statutes and procedural rules that need to be covered to file for divorce in New York. The steps that need to be taken to file for divorce in New York are as follows:

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Meet Residency Requirements: you must prove that you and your spouse have lived in New York for at least a year before a divorce can be filed.

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Understand The Grounds For Divorce In New York: those filing for divorce will need to show their reasoning for getting a divorce. There are seven grounds that New York deems acceptable including:

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• If a relationship has been broken down for at least 6 months (No-Fault Divorce)

• Cruel and inhuman treatment, this is where a spouse is in danger emotionally or physically and it is unsafe to continue living with their significant other. 

• Abandonment, this is where a spouse has abandoned their partner for at least one year 

• Adultery

• Imprisonment of a spouse for over 3  years in a row after marriage

• Separation, spouses living apart for one year. (separation agreement)

• Judgment separation drawn up by the court.

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Uncontested Divorce:  Gather information necessary to complete forms to file for an uncontested divorce. 

Divorce Forms: prepare and file the necessary forms required by New York courts. These forms can vary depending if you have children. After the forms are filled out, those filing for divorce will need to file a Summons and Complaint with the County Clerk’s Office.

Serve The Divorce Papers: To ensure that your spouse knows about the divorce, it is necessary to make sure that they get all the divorce papers in person through a process called service. This must be completed within 120 days of filing. 

Spousal Response: If the spouse agrees to the divorce (uncontested) they must return the paperwork within 40 days of being served papers. If a spouse does not respond, it is called defaulting and will be decided by the courts regardless of their concerns.

If the spouse disagrees with the served papers it becomes a contested divorce.

Proceeding To Divorce Court: If the spouse agrees with the divorce , you can set a court appointment to get things moving. However, if the spouse disagrees with the divorce (contested) the court will more than likely make decisions based on the issues that the couple disagrees upon.