What are the grounds for divorce in New York?
Key Takeaways
- New York is a no-fault divorce state.
- You don’t need a reason (legally known as “grounds for divorce”) to file in New York.
- However, you can file on fault-based grounds if they exist.
New York is a no-fault divorce state. That means you don’t need a reason (or “grounds”) to file for divorce (or “dissolution of marriage”).
However, New York also has fault-based grounds that you can use to file.
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The seven grounds for divorce in New York are:
- Irretrievable breakdown: This is the no-fault basis. It means that the relationship between the spouses has been broken beyond repair for six months or more. To use this ground, the couple must either reach an agreement or have the court determine property distribution, spousal support, child support, child custody and any other terms of the divorce.
- Cruel and inhuman treatment: The spouse filing for divorce believes their spouse treats them in such a cruel way that it endangers their physical or mental well-being. They also believe it’s unsafe for them to live with their spouse.
- Abandonment: The spouse filing for divorce has been abandoned by their spouse for at least a year.
- Imprisonment: The person filing for divorce is married to someone who’s been in jail for more than three or more consecutive years, and the prison sentence started during the marriage.
- Adultery: The spouse cheated on the person filing for divorce while they were married. To prove this, you need evidence from someone other than you and your spouse. Many people who cite adultery as the ground for divorce find it beneficial to work with an attorney.
- Divorce after a legal separation agreement: The spouses wrote a legal separation agreement and have lived separate and apart for at least one year.
- Divorce after a judgment of separation: Sometimes called a conversion, few people use this ground. It means the judge creates a separation agreement and the couple lives apart for at least a year, living according to the judgment of separation.
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