NEW YORK DIVORCE

Does New York have jurisdiction?

To file for a divorce in New York you must satisfy one of the following residency requirements. Any one will do, you do not have meet all of the requirements:
1) The marriage ceremony was performed in New York State and either spouse is a resident of the state at the time of the commencement of the action for divorce and resided in the state for a continuous period of one year immediately before the action began [In other words: you got married here and at least one of you has lived here for the last year]; OR
2) The couple lived as husband and wife in New York State and either spouse is a resident of the state at the time of the commencement of the action for divorce and resided in this state for a continuous period of one year immediately before the action began [In other words: you lived in New York together and at least one of you has lived here for the last year]; OR
3) The grounds for divorce occurred in New York State and either spouse is a resident of the state at the time of the commencement of the action for divorce and resided in this state for a continuous period of one year immediately before the action began [In other words: the basis for the divorce (see below) occurred in New York and at least one of you lived here for the last year]; OR
4) The grounds for divorce occurred in New York State and both spouses are New York residents at the time the action is commenced [In other words: the basis for the divorce (see below) occurred in New York and you both live here now, not necessarily for a whole year] ; OR
5) If you and your spouse were married outside of New York State and you never lived together as husband and wife in this state and the grounds for divorce did not occur in this state -- either you or your spouse must presently be a resident of New York State and have resided continuously in the state for at least two years prior to bringing this action for divorce [In other words, you weren’t married here, the basis for the divorce didn’t occur here, you never lived here together, then at least one of you has to have lived here for at least the last two years.

If you have minor children living with your spouse in another state for over six months then you should consider filing in that state as that court has jurisdiction over the children. You spouse can waive that jurisdiction in writing.

County of Filing:

You should file the divorce in the county your spouse lives in, or in the county that you both lived in when you separated, or in your county if your spouse lives out of state. You or your spouse must have a New York address in the county of filing. New York civilian residents living overseas may file in New York if they have maintained their residency in New York.

MILITARY:

Active duty members of the military (or their spouses) may file in New York if they have been stationed in New York for at least one year or were residents of New York when they entered active duty. ReliableDivorce.com staff includes former active duty officers and enlisted personnel and are completely knowledgeable on the special military requirements and the “Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act”. Our staff prides themselves on the service they provide our military members.

GROUNDS FOR DIVORCE: NO-FAULT or FAULT ?

In order to file for a divorce in New York State you must have a ground (a legally acceptable reason) for the granting of a divorce by the New York courts. The legally acceptable reasons, or grounds for divorce, in New York are: (1) cruel and inhuman treatment; (2) abandonment for one year; (3) imprisonment for three years; (4) adultery; (5) living separate and apart for over one year pursuant to a separation judgment or decree with satisfactory proof of substantial performance of same.
The most common ground for an uncontested divorce is abandonment for one year, including when the Defendant refused to have sexual relations with the Plaintiff despite Plaintiff’s repeated requests to resume such relations.

WAITING PERIOD:

PROPERTY OF THE MARRIAGE:

In a divorce, the property (land, house, buildings, and items of personal property) owned (and debts owed) by the couple is divided between the parties. In an uncontested divorce, this division is accomplished by means of a Marital Separation Agreement (MSA). You and your spouse must agree to the property and debt division and memorialize your agreement in the Marital Separation Agreement, which will be incorporated by reference into the Decree of Divorce that ultimately ends your marriage. You may agree to divide the property any way you like, as long as a basic fairness is maintained. You do not need to list items already divided or not an important issue in the divorce. You may revise the MSA after receipt of the documents from us by sending an email with your changes. There is never a charge for revisions at any time up to one year.
If you cannot agree on any item of this division, the dissolution of marriage transforms into a contested divorce. If at the final hearing the divorce is still contested we do not provide advice for that hearing. You may need to consult an attorney or be prepared to tell the judge why you feel your requested division of property is fair.

SPOUSAL SUPPORT:

Spousal Support is either agreed upon by the parties or determined by the judge in a contested hearing.    We cannot give legal advice regarding spousal support but will include your request in the documents.

The questionnaire you fill out will outline the custody, visitation and support for the children.  We will prepare the documents accordingly, and we will also prepare a Marital Separation Agreement (at no additional cost) which outlines in specific detail all the provisions regarding the children.  Both parties must attend the parenting class or get a waiver.  A list of the places in New York to attend may be obtained from the court.  Check with the court to see if you can attend online at:  http://positiveparentingthroughdivorce.com/?lt_c=goo1&gclid=CM3g-J_VppMCFQu8iQodGDaf4w.

CHILD SUPPORT:

The child support will either be an amount you and your spouse agree upon, or it will be determined for you by the court, according to the New York Child Support Guidelines.  If you wish the court to calculate the amount then you will need to file the standardized Child Support Guidelines form and Child Support Income Statement/Affidavit which we provide.  See “New York Child Support Calculator” on any search engine such as Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc.

CUSTODY:

You may have Joint Legal Custody or Sole Legal Custody.  This determines how the decisions are made regarding the raising of the child(ren).
Physical custody may be with one residential parent or “SPLIT CUSTODY” where the child(ren) live a substantial time with each parent.

VISITATION:

This can be any program agreed upon by the parties and may change from time to time.  If the parties cannot agree then the state guidelines are in effect.  State guidelines are outlined in the MSA provided with your documents.  You do not need to list your present visitation agreement as it will change from time to time but you may if you wish.  “No Visitation” or “Restricted Visitation” may be requested by supplying the reason on the questionnaire.

COURT ADDRESSES:

You must file the divorce documents in the Circuit Court in the county that you are filing in. Some court addresses for larger counties are as follows:
New York County Supreme Court, Civil Term: 71 Thomas Street, New York, NY 10013 Phone: 646-386-3770
New York County Supreme Court, Civil Term: 60 Centre Street, New York County Courthouse, New York, NY 10007 Phone: 646-386-3685
Queens County Supreme Court, Civil Term: 88-11 Sutphin Blvd., Queens County Courthouse, Jamaica, NY 11435 Phone: (718) 298-1000
Queens County Family Court: 151-20 Jamaica Avenue, Queens County Family Court, Jamaica, NY 11432 Phone: (718) 298-0197 Fax: (718) 297-2826
Bronx County Supreme Court, Civil Term: 851 Grand Concourse, Bronx County Supreme Court, Bronx, NY 10451 Phone: (212) 791-6000
Bronx County Family Court: 900 Sheridan Avenue, Bronx County Family Court, Bronx, NY 10451 Phone: (718) 590-3318 Fax: (718) 590-2681
Westchester County Supreme Court: 140 Grand Street, White Plains, NY 10601 Phone: (914) 824-5300/5400 Fax: (914) 995-3427
Kings County Supreme Court, Civil Term: 360 Adams Street, Kings County Civic Center, Brooklyn, NY 11201 Phone: (347) 296-1183
Onondaga County Supreme Court - Civil: 401 Montgomery Street, Onondaga Courts Building, 110, Syracuse, NY 13202 Phone: (315) 671-1030 Fax: (315) 671-1176
Monroe County Supreme Court: 99 Exchange Blvd., Hall of Justice, 5th Floor, Room 545, Rochester, NY 14614 Phone: Ph: (585) 428-2020/2331 Fax: (585) 428-2190
Erie County Supreme Court: 25 Delaware Avenue, Erie County Courthouse, Buffalo, NY 14202 Phone: 716.845.9301 Fax: 716.851.3293
Niagara County Supreme Court: 775 3rd Street, Angelo DelSignore Civic Office Bldg, Niagara Falls, NY 14302 Phone: 716.278.1800

FILING FEES:

You will have to pay the following filing fees during your action for New York divorce.
1. Index Number: $210
2. Note of Issue: $30
3. Request for Judicial Intervention: (outside NYC only) $95
4. Certificate of Dissolution: Check with your local court clerk
5. Certified Copy of Judgment: Approx. $5 to $10.
plus an additional fee if you wish the spouse served by the sheriff. The publication fee is approximately $65.
There are no additional fees for an uncontested divorce.
You may call the Clerk of the Court in your county to determine the exact fees in your county.

METHODS OF SERVICE: 

1.  The most common way is to have your spouse sign the documents AFTER you have filed the complaint with the court.  You can hand deliver the documents , mail them or have a third party deliver them to your spouse.  This method is available even though your spouse is incarcerated. 

2.  If your spouse will not sign or you not not sure if your spouse will sign then you can get service by having the sheriff in spouse’s county serve a copy of the filed documents along with other documents requiring spouse’s signature.  You can contact the sheriff in any state to serve your spouse.  You can also get service by Certified Mail, (Return Receipt Requested) if your spouse lives out of state.  If your spouse is incarcerated then you can get service by having the prison/jail officials serve your spouse.

3.  Service by publication.  If you cannot find your spouse after a diligent search then you can publish.  The publication fee for the newspaper is approximately $65 but varies for different counties.  Upon the filing of the Affidavit the clerk shall direct that service of notice be made by publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the complaint is filed.  We provide all the required documents for service by publication.

Go to our questionnaire and get started today.