New York Domestic Relations Law (DRL) §170(7) is the state's no-fault divorce statute and is the most commonly used ground for obtaining a divorce. Enacted in 2010, this provision fundamentally changed New York divorce law by allowing spouses to dissolve their marriage without proving that either party was at fault. Before the adoption of DRL §170(7), spouses were generally required to establish one of several fault-based or separation-based grounds, such as adultery, abandon

For a couple considering a divorce in New York, one of the biggest concerns is how the marital estate will be divided. New York is not a community property state. Instead, New York uses equitable distribution to divide the marital property or marital estate. Instead of a doing a 50/50 split in every divorce, New York looks at the facts of each case when divide marital property with the goal of fairly dividing and distributing the estate. When dividing the marital property, th

New York Domestic Relations Law (DRL) §170 establishes the legal grounds upon which a court may grant a judgment of divorce. Among these grounds is DRL §170(6), which allows spouses to obtain a divorce after living separate and apart pursuant to a written separation agreement. In contrast, DRL §170(7), enacted in 2010, authorizes a no-fault divorce based on the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage. While both provisions provide lawful means to dissolve a marriage, DRL §170

While I understand that you are probably feeling a whole host of emotions from anger to hurt, even resentment, my advice to you is attempt to put those feelings aside and settle your divorce before entering litigation. Allowing your feelings to determine the course of your divorce is not practical. Even if you are in the middle of litigation and believe that you have spent an excessive amount of money and energy you should still attempt to settle. By settling your case, you a

New York Domestic Relations Law (DRL) §170 establishes the legal grounds upon which a court may grant a judgment of divorce. One of these grounds, DRL §170(5), allows a divorce after the spouses have lived separate and apart pursuant to a judgment of separation. Another, DRL §170(7), provides New York's no-fault ground for divorce based on the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage. Although both provisions authorize the dissolution of a marriage, DRL §170(7) has become the

New York Domestic Relations Law (DRL) §170 sets forth the legal grounds upon which a court may grant a judgment of divorce. One of the fault-based statutory grounds is DRL §170(4), which permits a divorce when a spouse has been imprisoned for an extended period. In contrast, DRL §170(7) provides New York's no-fault ground for divorce based on the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage. Although both provisions authorize the dissolution of a marriage, they differ in their leg

In Matter of Botros v. Botros, 233 AD3d 1029 (2d Dept. 2024), the Appellate Division, Second Department, upheld the trial court’s dismissal of the father’s petition to modify the parental access provisions of the parties’ Judgment of Divorce. The mother therein was awarded sole legal and residential custody of the children and the father had supervised parental access. The Appellate Division held as part of the Decision & Order: “"A court hearing a pending proceeding or actio

Annulments are usually sought for a short term marriage and when there are no children of the marriage. However, with the ability for people to obtain a divorce based on “no fault” grounds, or Domestic Relations Law (DRL)§170(7), annulments are less sought out. However, if you do wish to pursue an annulment, here is what you need to know. You cannot simply obtain an annulment even if you and your spouse agree to seek to annul your marriage. There are five grou

Once your divorce commences it may be uncomfortable living with your spouse. If you want to begin to live separately sit down and determine if this is realistic. Remember, if you live separately there will be double the living expenses. One person may have family and can temporarily move in which can help alleviate the cost. Ultimately, if there isn’t a voluntary move, it is hard to have one person move out. Before addressing the procedure for removing a spouse from the ma

If you are contemplating divorce, you should be aware that the filing of a divorce triggers certain financial cut off dates. When determining marital property, the court will consider two specific dates. The first date is the date of your marriage, and the second date is the date of the commencement for your divorce action. Any acquired property during these two dates, unless it falls under limited exceptions for separate property which is not comingled such as inheritance,

You are contemplating moving but are either in the middle of a divorce or just signed your Stipulation of Settlement. Are you permitted to move? If there are no children from the marriage, then you can move wherever you wish. If you have children, the answer depends on the circumstances. Both parents are to spend meaningful time with the children. Having meaningful time with your children requires both parties to live relatively close to each other. The question then beco

Under New York law, the concept of post-commencement credits for mortgage payments most often arises in matrimonial actions, particularly in equitable distribution proceedings following the filing of a divorce action. “Post-commencement” refers to the period after the divorce action has been initiated. During this time, one spouse may continue to make payments toward a jointly held marital residence, including mortgage principal, interest, taxes, and insurance. Courts must th

An unforeseen issue in wealthy, high net worth, divorces is dividing airline points which can be more complicated than it first appears, because these rewards don’t fit neatly into traditional categories of property. In general, New York follows the principle of “equitable distribution,” meaning marital property is divided fairly, though not necessarily equally. The key question is whether airline miles or reward points qualify as marital property, and if so, how they should

One of the hardest decisions to make when contemplating a divorce pertains to your children. Custody is the term used to describe a parent’s supervisory relationship with their child. Physical or residential custody is when the parent resides with his/her child. Legal custody is the right of a parent to make decisions for the child regarding education, religion, medical care, discipline, and day to day events. You should try your best to reach an agreement pertaining to cu

After the commencement of your divorce action, both parties must think about maintaining the marital expenses until your divorce is final. The mortgage, carrying costs, insurance and other routine expenses still need to be addressed while your divorce is sorted out. There are many ways to accomplish this. The first and easiest way is to simply continue doing what you were doing pre divorce. If you are able to do that, you can concentrate on your divorce and hopefully conc

Divorce proceedings involving spouses in the military come with their own set of challenges. One of those challenges includes deployment. If the military-enlisted spouse receives deployment orders during the divorce action, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), codified in 50 USCS § 3932 applies. This statute applies to any civil action or proceeding, including any child custody proceeding, and is utilized to stay the proceedings pending deployment. Specifically, subsec

A concern for many is who will pay for the divorce. This is true, especially if one spouse has been staying at home to raise the children and take care of the household. As a result, this spouse now has a lack of financial resources to litigate their divorce. To begin, when a married couple begins the divorce process, generally they are divided into two categories, the monied spouse and the nonmonied spouse. In New York, Domestic Relations Law §237 provides that there “

After the commencement of a divorce action, both parties must consider maintaining the status quo regarding household expenses such as...

My advice to all of you who are in the middle of a divorce is to attempt to settle before entering litigation. While you may be angry or...

It is not uncommon for couples to have joint accounts. The problem occurs when money which would generally be defined as separate...