New York’s Grounds for Divorce Explained

Divorce isn’t simply the dissolution of the marriage between two people. There’s a lot more to it and a lot of legalities involved. You or your spouse must have lived in New York for at least a year to apply for divorce in the city. You aren’t eligible to file for divorce in any court of New York otherwise. Let’s have a look at the different grounds for filing a divorce in New York. 

No-Fault Divorce

This type of divorce has to do with the separation between the partners without any reasons cited. You and your spouse must have separated or lived apart for at least six months to file for a no-fault divorce. Y 

Inhuman Treatment or Abuse

This involves cases of physical abuse and mental and psychological torment. The petition must be signed and notarized, and submitted to the courts. 

Separation 

You or your spouse can file for separation if you’ve been living separately for at least six months. You can file for separation if you’re willing to share your property as well as your debts equally. 

Religious Grounds

You can file for divorce on religious grounds if you and your spouse don’t follow the same religious practices. 

Abandonment

This type of divorce is filed when your spouse doesn’t live with you for at least one year. You can also claim for this type if your spouse has deserted you in the state of New York without any communication for at least one year. 

Adultery 

This is also known as “spouse-stealing,” which means your spouse cheated on you, either sexually or by living with someone else, without being married to them. It can be filed if your spouse commits adultery and you find out about it. 

Imprisonment

This type of divorce is filed if your spouse was convicted and sentenced to imprisonment and if you haven’t lived together because they have been imprisoned for three years or more since the marriage. 

Maliciously Turned Against You 

When your spouse has maliciously turned against you and made false accusations of domestic violence against you before any court in New York (i.e., criminal and civil courts), you can file for divorce on these grounds. 

Now that you know the different grounds for applying for divorce in New York State, let’s look at some of the steps involved in the process. 

Filing the Petition

A petition is a formal request made before a court to begin a legal action or proceeding when there’s no dispute over facts concerning the case. Either you or your spouse files the petition with the appropriate court in New York where you reside, whether it’s in Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn, or elsewhere. The petitioner must also pay a filing fee payable to the clerk of courts. Before filing the petition, you must seek legal advice from a divorce lawyer in New York.

Process Serving 

After you file the petition, you need to serve it on your spouse personally or through a process server. You’ll need to provide proof of service to your spouse with a certificate of service. They have to answer the petition within 30 days of being served. If they don’t answer within 30 days, they will be taken as having no defense and no opposition against you, and the court may grant the divorce without any further proceedings.

Elite Legal Services of NYC Inc is a renowned professional process server agency in New York. We have been providing same-day process serving services in Whitestone, New York. You can find us in New York’s five boroughs from Queens to Brooklyn and The Bronx. Contact us for more information.