Many couples think that divorce is an easy and straightforward process. You ask the court to end your marriage, perhaps, fight a bit over your marital assets, and then get your desired Decree of Divorce after a while. However, marriage dissolution can not only be an emotionally difficult period, but also a rather complex and tricky legal event.
Mistakes, unaccepted papers, delays, extra fees, and other obstacles are frequent companions of divorces. It can be explained by the complexity of the legal system in general, as well as by a variety of requirements different for each state.
If you’re going to end your marital relationship in NY, we recommend you to learn more about its specific divorce rules. Are there any residency requirements? How does the filing process look? Mainly, you’d like to know what reasons for divorce in NY you should use to reflect your specific divorce situation and hasten the process. About this, you can read in this article.
What are the Grounds for Divorce in NY State?
Grounds for divorce will differ for every state. Some states have 12 official divorce reasons. Others would allow only 7. The third ones, however, will grant a divorce only to those who say their marriage was broken and impossible to revive. In other words, the experience of your friend from Texas or Washington might not be that helpful as you expected it to be. It might be better to consult the original source before starting the process.
Fortunately, we’ve gathered the grounds for divorce in NY in this article. In the following paragraphs, you will find their specific details. There are seven reasons that can be used as a ground for marriage dissolution:
- Cruel and inhuman treatment. The NY State allows couples to break their ties if one spouse is abused by the other one. It’s a fault reason that requires evidence, and the judge will be very precise about them. If you’re using cruel treatment to call it quits, be ready to prove that your spouse’s actions endanger your physical or/and mental health and safety. You can’t be divorced on this basis if you have occasional arguments and conflicts. The judge will accept this reason only if you can prove that further living together can harm your health or/and life. Also, you can’t file a petition using this reason if the abuse happened more than 5 years ago.
- If there’s a year since your other half has left you, the NY Law says you can dissolve your marriage. You will be considered abandoned if your spouse moved away and showed no intention of coming back. Alternatively, they might share the same place with your but refuse to have any intimate relationship that of a married couple. In this case, the court will consider it abandonment.
- Imprisonment is another fault reason that allows NY couples to end their marriage on the ground that one spouse is serving their time in prison. To use it for your divorce case, the following conditions must be also fulfilled: the party was imprisoned after your got married and they served 3 or more years of the prison term. This reason can be used for divorce while the prison term is still active or no later than five years after the party was released.
- When it comes to cheating, it’s tempting to use this reason for divorce in an attempt of getting a better share of marital assets. And while NY allows couples to divorce on the basis that someone wasn’t quite loyal in marriage, it’s often hard to prove that it happened. Plaintiff’s honest word isn’t enough to label someone a cheater. You will need someone else’s testimonials to prove the fact.
- Legal Separation Agreement. In simple words, it’s the rehearsal of a future divorce. If you’re unsure that you want to officially end your marriage but your life together doesn’t seem possible you can try legal separation. Usually, such an agreement would cover all marital issues, including child-related. To use this ground for divorce, the agreement must be properly notarized and you must be separated for at least a year. In some circumstances, a court can consider the case of separated spouses living together – if they can prove that they don’t have a relationship that of a married couple.
- A Judgment of Separation. This is the least popular of all grounds for divorce in NY. Unlike a legal separation agreement, which is decided out of court, a judgment of separation is made by a judge. And the process is quite similar to a divorce. Although this reason may be used as a reason to end the marriage, most couples prefer to file for divorce in the first place.
- Irretrievably Broken Marriage. The NY Law allows couples to call it quits if they say that they haven’t lived as a married couple for at least half a year. Both parties must agree with that, as well as divide their marital assets, debts, decide on support, and agree on a custody and visitation plan for their kids before they file the papers. In other words, if you don’t want to wash your dirty linen in public, you must also be able to negotiate, cooperate, and reach an agreement.
Bottom Line
In NY, there are seven different reasons you can use as a basis to set yourself free from marriage. The seventh, however, is the most popular one. It allows getting an uncontested divorce NY online, which is faster, cheaper, and easier in all ways. It allows spouses to avoid shameful trials in the court, as well as solve their divorce issues as they deem fit. But to make it work, the parties will have to show huge patience and ability to cooperate.
Read more lifestyle and relationship articles at ClichéMag.com
Images provided by Flickr, Unsplash, Pexels, Pixabay & Creative Commons
